The Incident and Kate McCann‘s Testimony

Kate McCann,the‌ mother of⁤ Madeleine McCann,testified ⁢in court on october 8,2025,describing‌ a distressing encounter with two women⁣ accused of stalking‌ her. The accused are Karen Spragg, 61, and Julia Wandelt, 24, both of whom deny the charges. The incident ‌occurred on Ms. McCann’s driveway.

Ms. McCann stated she first⁣ became aware of communications from Julia Wandelt approximately three years prior to the trial.‍ She described feeling “quite distressed” during the driveway ⁣confrontation and admitted to being “on edge”‌ due‌ to the prior communications from Ms.Wandelt. After the encounter, Ms. McCann immediately phoned her husband, Gerry McCann, to inform‍ him of⁣ what had happened.

Prosecutors allege that⁤ Julia Wandelt, originally from Lubin, Poland, has publicly⁤ promoted the false claim ⁤that⁢ she is Madeleine McCann, who disappeared in Portugal in 2007. The trial centers around accusations​ of stalking, with the prosecution arguing that the defendants’ actions ‍caused meaningful distress to the McCanns.

Emotional Outburst in Court

The courtroom‍ witnessed a dramatic moment after Ms. McCann had been in the witness box for nearly 90 minutes. As the judge granted Ms. McCann a break, ​Julia Wandelt reportedly began to sob loudly and shouted, “why are you doing this to ⁢me?” This outburst occurred while Ms. McCann was still ⁢present.

Background: The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann

Madeleine McCann disappeared from her⁢ bed in a ⁤holiday apartment in ⁢Praia da Luz,‍ Portugal, ‍on May 3, 2007, while ‍her parents were dining with friends nearby.The case garnered ⁣international attention and remains one of the most high-profile missing-person​ investigations in history. Despite extensive searches and investigations, Madeleine has ⁣never been found.