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Madeleine McCann's brother and sister, Sean and Amelie, have told the court that their encounters with an alleged harasser were extremely disturbing and creepy. The siblings described feeling stressed and frightened by a woman who insisted she was their long-lost sister.

Persistent Contact Detailed as Frightening

Appearing remotely, she stated how the accused, Julia Wandelt, contacted her repeatedly through social media and letters. She said the relentlessness was quite scary because you don’t know what she’ll do next.

Communications from the defendant were presented in the trial, in which she described recollections of living in the family home that she said were recalled under hypnosis. Amelie told the court, It's very upsetting that she's inventing these supposed recollections, even though she’s not Maddie.

Altered Images Increased Distress

The court heard that Wandelt had produced pictures of herself and Amelie as young girls, which the prosecution said were generated with AI tools. A number of these images were sent through online channels, while others were printed and enclosed in a letter to Amelie.

She stated, I didn’t like it, it made me feel very uneasy. She had clearly edited the images to make me appear similar to her, which was quite disturbing. I was aware I didn't resemble that, I knew it had been changed.

Psychological Impact on the Family

Amelie also discussed the effect of the supposed harassment on her parent, their mother, who testified about being confronted at home by Wandelt and her alleged accomplice, Karen Spragg.

In my opinion my mother experienced it as the most difficult. She was harassed by the defendant to a greater extent than the rest of us and I think it definitely took its toll on her and her wellbeing, Amelie said. It’s upsetting when a person is pleading with you to believe them and manipulating your feelings, to the extent you are questioning yourself.

Sibling's Statement on Stress and Online Scrutiny

In a testimony read to the court, Sean McCann stated that personally, he had not been too badly affected by the defendant's alleged harassment. However he had been upset that she was drawing social media scrutiny, with people saying hurtful and unjust things about his mother and father.

If she was not mentally ill and was fully aware she is not Maddie, yet makes these claims, that would be very distressing for me, he said. I am convinced she is my sister. The reality that the defendant is doing this has resulted in a significant amount of anxiety and I find it deeply disturbing.

The defendant and her co-defendant deny harassing the family household. The trial continue.