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For years, Kate McCann clung to one heartbreaking wish - to hear her daughter Madeleine McCann call her 'mum' once more. Now her long-held hope has taken a twisted turn, following a harassment nightmare. Julia Wandelt, who stood trial alongside co-accused Karen Spragg, has today been found guilty of harassing the missing girl's family, but not guilty of stalking them, after having made calls, sent letters and even turning up at the McCann family home. The 24-year-old Polish national, whose key-shaped pupil bears a startling resemblance to Madeleine's, claims that she is the child who vanished during a tragic family holiday to Praia da Luz, Lagos, Portugal, shortly before her fourth birthday. Wandelt previously told jurors "I do believe I'm her" through tears, while Leicester Crown Court heard it is "blindingly obvious" that 24-year-old Julia Wandelt is not missing Madeleine. DNA tests prove that Wandelt, who is two years older than Leicestershire-born Madeleine, has no familial relation to the McCanns whatsoever, having no British blood. She does, however, have a family of her own in Poland, who are understood to be deeply distressed by the claims she's made, which they strongly refute. But what would push a young woman to assume the identity of such a tragic figure, in an act that has undoubtedly opened her up to a fierce backlash? Here, experts weigh in. Dr Bradley Powell, clinical psychologist and co-founder of Regal Therapy, could "suggest a deep psychological need rather than malice", stemming from "identity confusion, trauma and a drive for validation that has become detached from reality." Much of what we know about Wandelt's life before she made these assertions is filtered through her divisive Instagram account, @Iammadeleinemccann, which has attracted widespread trolling. She's also opened up to disinformation reporter Marianna Spring in a BBC Radio 4 interview about her allegedly troubled childhood, which saw her suffer sexual abuse as well as isolation as a schoolgirl. She shared how playing music provided a much-needed escape from confronting her past difficulties. According to Dr Bradley Powell, "When someone experiences significant levels of emotional distress, loneliness, or unresolved and complex trauma, the mind can construct narratives that try to bring meaning or coherence. These stories can feel very real to the person, even when they are untrue. What we may be seeing could be an attempt to make sense of inner chaos through a story that offers belonging and significance." It's thought possible that Wandelt could be experiencing false memories, defined as a recollection that can range from distorted to completely untrue, but that can feel very real indeed. Our brain's malleability in this regard has been well documented. One particularly famous example of this was the "Lost in the Mall" Experiment, conducted by Geiselman et al. back in 1985. Researchers found they were able to implant false childhood memories in the minds of subjects through suggestion, triggering false recollections of becoming lost in a shopping precinct as a youngster. Wandelt's own beliefs are, of course, far more elaborate, but they could well feel every bit as vivid. Dr Powell said: "Research by cognitive psychologists shows that false memories can feel completely real to the person experiencing them. Memory isn't like a recording; it's reconstructive and can be influenced by many factors, including language and suggestion. "When someone is repeatedly exposed to certain imagery or ideas, the brain can fill in gaps with imagined details. Memory biases can influence witness testimony in any criminal trial. However, in a complex case like this, where emotion, identity, and media exposure intersect, it becomes especially important to interpret such accounts with caution and compassion for those involved. "For people who have felt invisible or rejected, public attention can provide a temporary sense of validation. Julia's actions may meet deep emotional needs, despite the damage it causes to others. When a belief becomes entwined with identity, disproving it can feel unbearable. "Accepting DNA results would mean confronting not only external truth but internal struggle. Maintaining the belief can feel safer than facing that void. Psychologically, this is 'self-protection', despite the cost to others”. We get some sense of Wandelt's potential relationship with memory through her Instagram content. In one clip, she insists, "My teacher at school said that I didn't always attend school, but my parents insist that I did. After all that confusion, I started doing my own research, I discovered what happened to Madeleine McCann, and I connected the dots. It's so stressful trying to get people to believe me." She went on to reflect: "I don't remember most of my childhood, but my earliest memory is very strong and it's about holidays in a hot place where there was a beach and white or very light coloured buildings with apartments. I don’t see my family in this memory." Shedding a little more light on this phenomenon, Tina Chummun, UKCP Person Centred Psychotherapist, Care2Counsel, urged people to remember that "adopting another identity can serve as a form of psychological protection, a way of escaping an unbearable sense of self or personal history." She explained: "While some may frame this behaviour as a 'cry for attention,' it's more accurate to understand it as a cry for validation, an unconscious effort to repair a fractured sense of self. There can also be elements of obsessional thinking or even delusional identity beliefs, often linked to trauma-related concerns or personality vulnerabilities. "In clinical practice, I work with such behaviours that are rarely about malice; they are about survival and connection, an attempt to be recognised, even if it's through a borrowed story." Joey Florez, a psychology and culture scholar, has a slightly different take on Wandelt's behaviour, which he views as "a very interesting and unsettling example of what we sometimes see in individuals who become fixated on high-profile missing persons cases." The case of Madeleine has garnered arguably more worldwide attention than any missing child case in history, so much so that the endless coverage has sparked controversy. After all, thousands of children go missing every year, and their names are all too quickly forgotten. Even though this insatiable public interest was most intense in the UK, it's highly likely that Wandelt and her family would have seen Madeleine's face gazing out from news bulletins over in Poland. According to Mr Florez, "Her persistence in claiming to be Madeleine McCann, despite evidence to the contrary, suggests an identity delusion or so-called 'delusional misidentification syndrome (DMS)', wherein an individual holds a firm conviction that they are another person. This may be compounded by obsessive behaviour and a desperate need for attention or validation." This particular type of delusion was first described by French psychiatrist Joseph Capgras in 1923. Alongside assistant Jean Reboul-Lachaux, Capgras coauthored a paper on a 53-year-old paranoid megalomaniac who "transformed everyone in her entourage, even those closest to her, such as her husband and daughter, into various and numerous doubles." This patient was of the belief that she was famous, wealthy, and even had royal blood. Sadly, three of her children had died, and she believed that they'd been abducted and that her one surviving child had been replaced by a look-alike. The anguish that such delusions can perhaps be seen in this trial, in the pain of both the McCanns and Wandelt's own family. Mr Florez added, "Where motives are concerned, there may be a number of them. Some are driven by the ego or psychological need for significance or relevance, and placing oneself at the centre of a global publicised saga like Madeleine McCann's ensures fierce attention, even if it is adverse. "Some are maybe seeking a feeling of belonging, attempting to relive their own history, or involuntarily acting out trauma or unmet emotional needs with these delusions. That Ms Wandelt moved from claiming other abducted children to Madeleine indicates a coherent psychological pattern, rather than opportunistic manipulation. It appears to be more about her own internal reality rather than a tactical attempt to manipulate. "That she acted as she did, initiating repeated contact with the McCanns and attempting to ingratiate herself into their lives, demonstrates a dangerous combination of fixation and boundary-pushing. "Even if she believes she is Madeleine, the impact on the victims is real: the McCanns have had to endure renewed anxiety, distress, and intrusion into their already shattered lives. In cases like this, both the psychological well-being of the person making the claims and the safety and mental well-being of the people being targeted must be carefully taken into account." Going forward, what sort of help should an individual like Wandelt be seeking, and is there a way to heal? On this note, Claire Law, a psychotherapist and legal contributor at Custody X Change, advises: "Supporting someone in this situation requires both compassion and professional guidance. A therapist would aim to explore what emotional need the belief is meeting and help the person reconnect with a stable sense of self. "It is about rebuilding identity in a grounded way and helping them face reality without shame. This approach balances accountability with understanding and can prevent further harm to both the individual and those affected by their behaviour. My hope is that conversations like this encourage more awareness of how emotional wounds can shape belief and behaviour." Do you have a story to share? Email me at julia.banim@reachplc.com
