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Maddie McCann's twin siblings, Amelie and Sean, have testified in court that their interactions with an accused harasser were extremely disturbing and unsettling. They described feeling stressed and frightened by a woman who insisted she was their missing sister.

Relentless Contact Detailed as Scary

Testifying remotely, she stated how the accused, Julia Wandelt, reached out to her repeatedly through social media and letters. Amelie explained the persistence was very frightening since you don’t know what her next move might be.

Messages from Wandelt were presented in the trial, in which she recounted memories of living in the McCann household that she said were recovered under hypnosis. Amelie told the court, It's very disturbing that she’s coming up with these alleged memories, despite the fact she isn't Maddie.

Altered Pictures Increased Unease

Jurors learned that the accused had created pictures of herself and Amelie as children, which the state said were made with AI tools. Some of these images were transmitted through online channels, while additional ones were produced physically and included in a letter to Amelie.

Amelie said, It was unpleasant, it made me feel very uneasy. She had clearly edited the pictures to make me look more like her, which was quite disturbing. I knew I didn’t look like that, I knew it had been changed.

Emotional Impact on the Household

Amelie also discussed the impact of the alleged harassment on her mother, Kate, who testified about being confronted at her residence by Wandelt and her co-defendant, Karen Spragg.

In my opinion my mother experienced it as the hardest. She was targeted by Julia more than the others in the family and I believe it certainly took its toll on her and her wellbeing, she testified. It’s upsetting when a person is pleading with you to accept their claims and playing with your emotions, to the extent you are doubting your own judgment.

Sibling's Statement on Anxiety and Online Attention

In a testimony presented to the trial, Sean McCann said that personally, he had not been too badly affected by Wandelt's alleged harassment. However he had been upset that she was drawing online attention, with people saying nasty and unfair things 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 continues to assert she is, that would be very upsetting for me, he testified. I am convinced she is my sister. The fact that Julia is engaging in this behavior has caused me a significant amount of anxiety and I find it deeply troubling.

The defendant and Spragg deny harassing the family family. The trial continue.