The courtroom in Leicester has become the theatre of a bizarre and unsettling saga involving 24-year-old Julia Wandelt, a Polish national accused of stalking the family of Madeleine McCann, the British girl who vanished in Portugal in 2007.
Wandelt is charged with repeatedly contacting Madeleine's parents, Kate McCann and Gerry McCann, and her younger sister, Amelie McCann, claiming to be the missing child. The prosecution described her behaviour as a campaign that spanned years, involving messages, phone calls and uninvited visits to the McCanns' home, all of which left the family distressed and fearful.
One of the most striking revelations in the trial is that Wandelt used the AI system ChatGPT to probe whether she could be Madeleine. Court documents report that she asked ChatGPT if 'it was possible' she was Madeleine and created fake childhood photographs using the chatbot's output to bolster her claim.
Investigators emphasise that the claim is factually untenable. For a start, Wandelt is nearly two years older than Madeleine would now be, a discrepancy she attempted to explain away by saying she 'just looked younger'. Scientific evidence was cited in court to confirm she is not the missing girl.
Amelie McCann, giving evidence by video link, described the interactions as 'creepy' and 'disturbing', saying they made her feel 'upset and scared'. She recalled the moment an unannounced visit was made to the McCanns' home in December 2024, prompting the family to upgrade their security.
Wandelt's alleged modus operandi, according to prosecutors, involved fabricating memories of being part of the McCann household — playing with the twins, remembering family events — and pressuring the family for a DNA test. At one point she visited the home and left letters signed 'Madeleine' at the door. Her co-defendant, 61-year-old Karen Spragg of Cardiff, is accused of assisting in the campaign; both deny the stalking charges.
The case brings into sharp relief the strain placed on families already burdened with grief and uncertainty. The McCanns have long campaigned for answers in the disappearance of their daughter, a case that remains one of the most-covered missing-person stories in modern British media.
From a broader perspective, the trial underscores how advances in technology — such as AI-generated imagery and internet disinformation — intersect with deeply personal trauma and legal boundaries. The fact that an individual would turn to ChatGPT to seek identity confirmation highlights the modern complexity of identity, obsession and mental health.
As the trial continues, the jury will consider whether Wandelt's actions meet the legal threshold for stalking — defined as behaviour that causes 'serious alarm or distress'. For the McCanns, the emotional toll has been immense. Amelie remarked that it was her mother who suffered the most, saying the harassment took a toll on her wellbeing.
In short, Julia Wandelt is not simply a woman claiming to be the missing child — she is at the centre of a chilling and prolonged episode of alleged harassment, powered by technology and unravelling the boundaries between delusion and crime. While Madeleine's disappearance remains unresolved, this case provides a stark reminder of the ripple-effects on the family left behind.
Originally published on IBTimes UK