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Kate McCann has described to the hearing how she found it deeply upsetting to listen to an alleged stalker call her “mum,” as she insisted to be her missing daughter.

Giving evidence from a shielded position, she stated that the behavior of the 24-year-old defendant left her frightened and distressed. Wandelt is said to have carried out a 30-month harassment campaign that culminated with her detainment in early this year.

The Polish national is accused with frequently referring to Kate as “mum” on multiple occasions, while claiming she was the missing girl, who had just turned three when she vanished during a trip with her parents in the Portuguese resort in 2007.

This included a letter ended “Madeleine x.”

This was one instance of a thing that was affecting me deeply,” McCann testified. “It’s obvious the thing I want the most … is for Madeleine to be back and for her to be saying ‘mum’. And that was really stressful for me.”

McCann continued, “Calling me as ‘mum’ is difficult.”

Confrontation outside the home

Jurors were informed that Wandelt and her alleged accomplice, Karen Spragg from Cardiff, had bombarded the family with repeated communications and were waiting outside their home on the night of 7 December 2024.

When Kate McCann exited her car by herself, she recalled hearing a voice in the darkness saying “Kate.”

“I was aware it was someone nearby but I didn’t know who it was,” she said. “I got a fright.”

Turning round, she recognised the defendant “pretty quickly” from pictures she had sent, she said. “She was quite vivid in my mind anyway because of all the communications,” she added.

“I got a fright and when I realised who it was I felt very upset. I think I’d been on edge anyway with all the communication and it just bubbled up.”

McCann stated she managed to get inside the house even though the accused “reaching out trying to stop me closing the door.”

Demand for testing and fleeting uncertainty

The pair had been demanding a DNA test, something McCann said she would have been unable to do without the participation of law enforcement, who had already ruled out the possibility that the defendant was her daughter.

She admitted she had not wanted to indulge the women, but confessed she had experienced a brief hesitation.

“I think because [the alleged harassment] was becoming overwhelming, a little bit of my brain was saying ‘what if?’, even though I was certain …

“I suppose having seen a picture of her, and she’s Polish, nothing made any sense.

“I don’t know what my daughter looks like now, but if I saw a photo of her, I would know her instantly.

“When I say there was a niggle, it was minuscule.”

Gerry McCann testifies about the same evening

Gerry McCann was questioned regarding the identical incident in court on the following day. He had come home after his wife to be confronted by the defendants, which he labeled “very unpleasant.”

He also talked about being certain Wandelt was not his lost child and revealed that at a certain moment he had answered the phone to her.

“I can’t remember my precise phrasing but I stated along the lines of: ‘You’re not Madeleine, please cease contacting us’.”

He struggled to talk through the visible distress as he discussed trying to protect his remaining children from the spotlight brought by Madeleine’s case.

“Social media can be harmful, all the horrible things that have been posted about us and malicious content online, so naturally we aimed to protect them from that,” he said.

Heartfelt account and courtroom outburst

Kate McCann had also been emotional during her testimony when she explained it was only when Wandelt contacted their adult child Amelie that they had decided to take action through authorities. Her voice broke as she explained that her daughter and her brother Sean had had to deal with a lot.

Wandelt started crying from the court enclosure in what seemed like an attempt to make certain Kate could hear her. She was escorted to the back of the enclosure, where she exclaimed: “Why are you doing this to me?” She was taken through the door leading towards the cells and her weeping could be audible resounding in the corridor.

Both defendants deny the charges against them.

Proceedings are ongoing.