Overview
- Closing arguments for the defense cast Julia Wandelt as a confused young woman seeking her identity with no malevolent intent, urging jurors to acquit.
- The prosecution’s summation described a calculated campaign that was “cruel and unforgiving,” alleging Wandelt and Karen Spragg caused very significant distress to Kate and Gerry McCann.
- Evidence before the jury includes a DNA result excluding Wandelt as Madeleine and an audio clip from December 2024 in which Kate McCann says, “You are causing a lot of distress stop it.”
- Prosecutors allege repeated contacts from June 2022 to February this year, including emails, calls, a social media approach to Amelie McCann in January 2024, a doorstep visit, and a letter addressed as if from the missing daughter.
- Both defendants deny one count of stalking, and the judge instructed jurors to set aside sympathy and decide solely on the evidence as the trial continues.