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Madeleine McCann's twin siblings, Sean and Amelie, have testified in court that their interactions with an alleged harasser were extremely disturbing and unsettling. They explained feeling anxious and frightened by a woman who claimed she was their long-lost sister.

Relentless Contact Described as Frightening

Testifying via video link, she stated how the accused, the 24-year-old, reached out to her multiple times through social media and letters. She said the persistence was very frightening since it's impossible to predict what she’ll do next.

Communications from the defendant were presented in the trial, in which she recounted memories of being in the family home that she said were recovered during hypnotherapy. Amelie testified, It’s quite upsetting that she’s coming up with these supposed memories, even though she’s not Madeleine.

Fabricated Pictures Increased Unease

Jurors heard that Wandelt had created pictures of herself and Amelie as children, which the state alleged were made with AI tools. Some of these photos were sent through online channels, while others were produced physically and enclosed in a letter to Amelie.

Amelie said, I didn’t like it, it made me feel very uneasy. It was evident she edited the images to make me look more like her, which was very distressing. I was aware I didn't resemble that, I knew it had been changed.

Emotional Impact on the Family

She also discussed the effect of the supposed harassment on her parent, Kate, who gave evidence about being approached at home by Wandelt and her co-defendant, a 61-year-old woman.

I think my mother experienced it as the hardest. She was targeted by Julia more than the rest of us and I believe it definitely took its toll on her and her wellbeing, she said. It’s upsetting when a person is pleading with you to accept their claims and manipulating your emotions, to the extent you are doubting your own judgment.

Sibling's Testimony on Anxiety and Digital Scrutiny

In a witness statement presented to the trial, her brother said that for him, he had not been severely impacted by the defendant's accused harassment. But he had been distressed that she was attracting social media scrutiny, with people saying nasty and unfair comments about his mother and father.

In the event that Wandelt was not suffering from a psychological condition and was completely conscious she is not Maddie, yet makes these claims, that will be very distressing for me, he said. I am convinced she is my sibling. The fact that Julia is doing this has caused me a great deal of stress and I consider it deeply disturbing.

The defendant and Spragg deny stalking the McCann family. Proceedings are ongoing.