Woman charged for stalking – claimed to be Madeleine McCann

Julia Wandel, 23, claimed she was Madeleine McCann.

Several times she must have sent messages and visited the missing girl’s family.

Now she is faced with trial for four cases of stalking.

The woman who claimed to be Madeleine McCann has been charged with four cases of stalking by the missing girl’s family. The 23-year-old woman, Julia Wandel, was arrested at Bristol Airport on Wednesday, reports BBC.

Wandel was arrested after being heard at Leicester’s Magistrate Court on Friday and will attend a prosecution in Leicester Crown Court on April 7.

According to court documents, the 23-year-old must have sent messages, submitted voting messages and appeared in the family’s home between January 3, 2024 and 15 February 2025. She is also accused of sending WhatsApp notifications to Madeleine’s siblings. According to Wandel’s lawyer, she refuses crime.

“The alleged contact had a considerable negative impact on the family’s everyday life when you knew or should have known that the action would cause concern or discomfort,” the BBC writes, referring to the prosecution.

In 2023, Julia Wandel published a post on Instagram stating that she is Madeleine McCann, which received a lot of attention. A few months later, a DNA test showed that Wandel is from Poland and that she also has Romanian and Lithuanian origin which indicates that she is not Madeleine McCann, reports BBC.

Madeleine McCann disappeared almost 18 years ago, just before her four -year anniversary, in one of the most notable disappearances in modern British history. She was last seen by her family in their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, in Portugal, May 3, 2007.

A 60-year-old woman from Wales, who was arrested with Wandel suspected of persecution, has been released against the bail, according to Leicestershire’s police.

Stalking offenses can give up to 12 months in prison and fines, writes The Guardian.