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Maddie McCann's brother and sister, Amelie and Sean, have told the court that their encounters with an alleged harasser were extremely disturbing and unsettling. They described feeling stressed and frightened by a woman who claimed she was their missing sister.

Relentless Contact Described as Frightening

Appearing via video link, she described how the accused, the 24-year-old, reached out to her repeatedly through social media and letters. She said the relentlessness was very scary since it's impossible to predict what her next move might be.

Communications from the defendant were presented in the trial, in which she described memories of being in the McCann household that she said were recalled under hypnosis. She told the court, It's very disturbing that she's inventing these alleged recollections, despite the fact she’s not Maddie.

Fabricated Pictures Increased Unease

Jurors learned that the accused had created pictures of herself and Amelie as children, which the prosecution said were made with ChatGPT. Some of these photos were transmitted through social media, while additional ones were printed and enclosed in a letter to her.

Amelie stated, It was unpleasant, it made me feel very uneasy. She had clearly edited the images to make me appear similar to her, which was very distressing. I was aware I didn’t look like that, I understood it had been manipulated.

Psychological Impact on the Family

She also discussed the effect of the supposed stalking on her parent, their mother, who gave evidence about being confronted at her residence by Wandelt and her co-defendant, a 61-year-old woman.

In my opinion my mum experienced it as the most difficult. She was harassed by Julia to a greater extent than the others in the family and I think it certainly had a negative effect on her and her mental health, Amelie said. It’s upsetting when a person is begging you to believe them and playing with your feelings, to the extent you are doubting your own judgment.

Sibling's Testimony on Stress and Digital Attention

In a testimony read to the trial, her brother stated that for him, he had not been too badly affected by Wandelt's accused harassment. But he had been upset that she was attracting online attention, with people posting hurtful and unjust comments about his mother and father.

In the event that she was not suffering from a psychological condition and was fully aware she is not Madeleine, yet makes these claims, that will be very distressing for me, he testified. I do not believe she is my sister. The fact that the defendant is engaging in this behavior has caused me a significant amount of stress and I consider it profoundly disturbing.

The defendant and her co-defendant deny harassing the McCann household. The trial are ongoing.