A woman who previously claimed to be Madeleine McCann has entered a not guilty plea to charges of stalking the missing child’s parents, reports Sky.
Julia Wandel, aged 23, faces allegations of making phone calls, leaving voicemails, and sending a letter and WhatsApp messages to Kate and Gerry McCann.
The woman from southwest Poland is also accused of visiting their family home twice last year and sending Instagram messages to Sean and Amelie McCann, Madeleine’s siblings, reports Sky.
Prosecutors allege that her actions caused significant alarm or distress to the family between June 2022 and February of this year, when she was arrested at Bristol Airport.
In 2023, Wandel claimed on Instagram to be Madeleine, though a DNA test later confirmed she was Polish, reports Sky.
Karen Spragg, 60, is also accused of stalking, having allegedly made phone calls, sent letters, and visited the McCanns’ home. She pleaded not guilty at Leicester Magistrates’ Court.
Wandel has been remanded in custody, while Spragg, from Caerau in Cardiff, has been released on conditional bail.
Both women are scheduled to appear for trial at Leicester Crown Court on 2 October, reports Sky.
The case of Madeleine’s disappearance remains one of the most baffling missing child cases in the world.
She vanished in Portugal’s Algarve region in 2007 during a holiday with her family, reports Sky.
Her parents had left her in bed with her twin siblings while dining at a nearby restaurant in Praia da Luz when the three-year-old went missing on 3 May.
Earlier this year, a prosecutor told Sky News that no charges would be brought in the near future against a man suspected of abducting Madeleine, reports Sky.
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