McCann family friends left ‘disturbed’ by alleged stalker, court hears

A couple who were with Madeleine McCann’s family on the night the girl disappeared have told a court they were left “disturbed” after an alleged stalker contacted them over the phone, online and sent personal photos.

Julia Wandelt – who Leicester Crown Court has heard believes she is Madeleine – and Karen Spragg are on trial charged with stalking the missing girl’s parents Kate and Gerry McCann.

On Wednesday the court was told as part of Miss Wandelt’s attempts to make contact and press for a DNA test, David and Fiona Payne were both approached in late 2024.

Mrs Payne told the jury that Miss Wandelt’s contact – including trying to befriend her daughter on social media – left her “angry”.

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

The court heard Mr and Mrs Payne had been “very close friends” with the McCanns for about 25 years.

Giving evidence, Mr Payne told the court he was sent personal photos of his wife and children by Miss Wandelt.

He added he was phoned twice, and then received a series of emails which included photos of Miss Wandelt’s grandfather alongside a suspect in the disappearance, and photos of the Payne and McCann families, which had not been made public.

Miss Wandelt told Mr Payne, who said he was “surprised and concerned” over the photos, they had been sent to her by someone close to the McCanns who believed that she was Madeleine, the court heard.

Mrs Payne, who said she was also phoned and messaged by Miss Wandelt, told the court the couple had received “unsolicited” contact over the years from “all sorts of people” – from reporters to conspiracy theorists – but the “disturbing” attempts to contact them, including friend requests towards the couple’s daughter, had left her “angry”.

She said: “It’s really difficult actually.

“I think she’s a vulnerable young adult who has been adversely affected by Madeleine’s disappearance. She has the good sense to ignore these messages.

“I feel angry actually that she [Julia Wandelt] sought to manipulate her in that way.”

Mr Payne told the jury he took two phone calls from Miss Wandelt in October 2024, which the defendant had recorded.

These were played to the jury, with Miss Wandelt asking for him to help her contact the McCanns, saying: “All doors are closed.”

Mr Payne told the jury: “It’s in my nature to help people, but I felt there was nothing I could do.”

Mrs Payne said she had been “half expecting” Miss Wandelt to call her following this, and when she did that same month, her call was ended by Mrs Payne and her number blocked.

Contact continued via a series of messages and emails directed at Mr Payne, including asking him about the McCanns’ blood types, about Madeleine’s pink toy Cuddle Cat, and a message in December which read: “Merry Christmas David. The truth will come out.”

One message, the court heard, said that as “part of the tapas group” – a reference to Mr and Mrs Payne being two of seven people who dined with Kate and Gerry McCann on the night of Madeleine’s disappearance – Mr Payne could “clear” his family’s name by helping Miss Wandelt.

One message read: “Are you scared like me?”

Another said: “If your daughter who was missing and a girl turned up with compelling evidence what would you do? You can imagine my pain.”

The Paynes did not respond to any of the messages, the court heard, with Mr Payne forwarding the texts and emails he had received to police.

Mrs Payne said following the opening of the stalking trial, she found a series of messages in her spam folder on Facebook Messenger, which were sent by Miss Wandelt.

In other evidence heard on Wednesday, the senior officer in the Met Police’s investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance told the trial his team made further inquiries into three women who may have been Madeleine.

Twelve leads about specific women were sent in to Operation Grange’s public email address, Det Ch Insp Mark Cramwell said, including Miss Wandelt, but three other women were progressed to further action.

One person was asked to provide photographic evidence, another was spoken to in person, while a third who had provided a DNA sample independently had their sequence compared to Madeleine’s.

None of the three were Madeleine, Det Ch Insp Cramwell added.

Ms Wandelt, 24, of Jana Kochanowskiego in Lubin, Poland, and Mrs Spragg, 61, of Caerau Court Road, Cardiff, deny the charges.

The trial continues.

Additional reporting by PA Media