Woman charged with stalking Madeleine McCann’s family

Gavin Bevis

BBC News, East Midlands

Bea Swallow

BBC News, Bristol

BBC Julia Wandelt walking through a field with her eyes down. She is wearing a purple dress and has long mousey brown hair.BBC

Julia Wandel, also known as Julia Wandelt, was arrested at Bristol Airport on Wednesday

A woman who claimed to be Madeleine McCann has appeared in court charged with four counts of stalking the missing girl’s family.

Julia Wandel, also known as Julia Wandelt, was arrested at Bristol Airport on Wednesday on suspicion of stalking involving serious alarm and distress.

Ms Wandel, originally from Poland, was remanded into custody after appearing at Leicester Magistrates’ Court on Friday.

Court documents state the 23-year-old is alleged to have sent messages, left voicemails and turned up at the family home between 3 January 2024 and 15 February 2025.

The documents say Ms Wandel is alleged to have gone to the McCanns’ home twice – on 2 May and 7 December – as well as sending WhatsApp messages to Kate and Gerry McCann, and Instagram messages to her siblings.

They add the conduct “had a substantial adverse effect” on the family’s day-to-day activities “when you knew or ought to have known that your course of conduct would cause alarm or distress”.

Photo of Madeleine McCann used in missing person appeal

Madeleine McCann’s disappearance prompted an international search in 2007

Madeleine McCann’s disappearance at the age of three in Portugal in 2007 is one of the most widely reported missing child cases in history and remains unsolved.

Ms Wendal claimed to be missing Madeleine McCann in an Instagram post in 2023, saying she has “gaps in her memory” of childhood after suffering abuse.

However the claim was contradicted in a DNA test in 2023, which revealed she was from Poland, with some Lithuanian and Romanian heritage.

A 60-year-old woman from Wales, who was also arrested alongside Ms Wandel on suspicion of stalking, has been released on bail, Leicestershire Police added.

Source link

Visited 1 times, 1 visit(s) today

Related Article

Nvidia’s trillion-dollar run puts pressure on the bulls

BEIJING, CHINA – MAY 14: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (C) gestures as he prepares to depart following a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People on May 14, 2026 in Beijing, China. President Trump is meeting with President Xi Jinping in Beijing to address the Iran conflict, trade imbalances, and the Taiwan situation

15 May 2026

Permutations in Europe: What’s still at stake in final weeks of season?

There’s still plenty to play for across Europe as we head into the final matches of the club season. Here are all the title races, Champions League fights, and relegation battles left to be decided in the top leagues this month. This story will be updated until the end of the campaign. 👉 Jump to:EPL

15 May 2026

Brewing a Better Half-Gallon Batch

Today I finally ran an experiment I’ve wanted to try for a long time. If you’re a professional barista—or you run a busy café—this may save you some time. Most coffee shops use 1–1.5 gallon batch brewers (Bunn, Curtis, Fetco, etc.). When I opened Short Sleeves Coffee, I intentionally avoided brewing full 1-gallon batches. I

15 May 2026

5 Frozen Breakfasts Chefs Say Keep You Full All Morning

Chef-approved frozen breakfasts with more protein and better ingredients. Eating a healthy breakfast every morning is a great way to start the day, but most people don’t have time to cook. Whether you’re rushing out the door in the morning for work, taking the kids to school or both, there’s usually not much time in

15 May 2026

CA scales back plan to ban student use of cell phones

By Carolyn Jones, CalMatters This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Until last month, California was poised to join nearly a dozen other states that ban cell phones in K-12 schools. But under pressure from school boards and administrators, lawmakers scaled back a bill that would have required such a

15 May 2026
BulkQuant Launches AI Trading Bot for Crypto, Forex, and Stock Markets

BulkQuant Launches AI Trading Bot for Crypto, Forex, and Stock Markets

London, United Kingdom, May 15, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — BulkQuant has officially launched its AI trading bot platform designed for crypto, forex, and stock market traders seeking a simpler way to automate trading strategies across multiple financial markets. The platform combines AI-powered quantitative analysis, automated trade execution, portfolio monitoring, and adaptive risk management into a

15 May 2026
IMF lauds resilient Hong Kong economy but warns of risks linked to Middle East war

IMF lauds resilient Hong Kong economy but warns of risks linked to Middle East war

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has lauded the resilience of Hong Kong’s economy, noting a sustained recovery despite economic activity having yet to return to pre-Covid levels, while warning of downside risks stemming from escalating geopolitical tensions. It also urged Hong Kong to pursue medium-term financial reforms, including the introduction of a goods and services

15 May 2026

Smithsonian Presidents Exhibit Reopens With Low-Key Trump Impeachment Mention

For the past year, the Smithsonian Institution has found itself in the awkward position of telling the nation’s story while being supported in part by a government that wants to narrow how that story is told. In December, the White House threatened to revoke funding to the institution if it did not hand over a

15 May 2026

Marvel’s Daredevil Follow-up Is Already Dominating on Streaming

A follow-up to Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 on Disney+ has become a massive streaming success within days of its launch. The Punisher: One Last Kill has quickly climbed to the top of multiple charts, beating out other titles on the platform. The MCU television special follows the gun-toting vigilante, who finds himself targeted by

15 May 2026

Is Now a Bad Time to Invest?

The market has been on a roll lately, with the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) setting new highs throughout May. If you think you missed your opportunity when the market bottomed in late March, don’t fret. The market hitting new all-time highs is not particularly rare and should not change your investment strategy. And if you

15 May 2026
6 bids for Hong Kong land sale signal renewed confidence despite market caution

6 bids for Hong Kong land sale signal renewed confidence despite market caution

The Hong Kong government’s first land sale in the current financial year has drawn six bids, according to the Development Bureau, including those from the city’s largest developers, suggesting a more confident outlook for the residential property market. At the close of tender for Tung Chung Town Lot No 54 at Area 106A on Friday

15 May 2026

Each Premier League team reranked: Man City rise; Chelsea, Liverpool collapse

Ryan O’Hanlon Close Ryan O’Hanlon ESPN.com writer Ryan O’Hanlon is a staff writer for ESPN.com. He’s also the author of “Net Gains: Inside the Beautiful Game’s Analytics Revolution.”  and  Bill Connelly Close Bill Connelly ESPN Staff Writer Bill Connelly is a writer for ESPN. He covers college football, soccer and tennis. He has been at

15 May 2026
Trump departs China after two-day summit

Trump departs China after two-day summit

IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Trump Wraps China Summit With Xi Jinping: What Are the Results? 05:41 Xi gives Trump rare tour of secret garden at heart of Chinese government 01:04 Now Playing Trump departs China after two-day summit 01:01 UP NEXT Special Report: Trump

15 May 2026
Carol Chow was facing a bankruptcy petition by five people over unspecified debts at the time of her death. Photo: Dickson Lee

Embattled Hong Kong developer sued for HK$130 million, days after founder’s death

A Hong Kong property developer has been sued for HK$130 million (US$16.6 million) over allegedly breaching guarantor obligations in two bond subscription agreements, becoming the latest lawsuit to implicate the embattled company and following its founder’s sudden death earlier this week. Lofter Group, known for its urban renewal projects across the city’s core districts, and

15 May 2026

Trump’s China visit left chip export issue unresolved

This report is from this week’s The Tech Download newsletter. Like what you see? You can subscribe here. One look at the roster of U.S. execs that cozied up to U.S. President Donald Trump on the 20+ hours flight from Alaska to China on Wednesday and you get a sense of the American delegation’s key focus

15 May 2026
Why the Cerebras IPO matters for the AI race with China

Why the Cerebras IPO matters for the AI race with China

Cerebras, an AI chipmaker, saw its shares nearly double on Nasdaq, closing up 70% with a $95B market cap. Cerebras’s powerful chips are key in the US-China AI tech race. Chris Buskirk, co-founder and chief investment officer of 1789 Capital, a key Cerebras investor, says the company’s IPO is geopolitically significant. On Thursday, shares of

15 May 2026

Fitbit Air vs Whoop Strap Comparison: Price, Features and AI

The Google Fitbit Air is very much the talk of the fitness tracking town right now, not only because it’s the first new Fitbit device that we’ve had in years, but it’s also one of the first big brands to go head-to-head with the established Whoop Strap (if you don’t count the Polar Loop and

15 May 2026
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x