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63
“Arrest The Parents For Neglect”: Woman Who Says She’s Madeleine McCann Is Arrested In The UK
A Polish woman who claimed to be missing Madeleine McCann was arrested upon landing in the UK.
Julia Wandelt, who also goes by Julia Wendell and Julia Faustyna, was taken into custody upon suspicion of stalking and harassing Kate and Gerry McCann—the parents of Madeleine, who disappeared from her bed during a family holiday in Portugal in May, 2007.
Highlights
- Julia Wandelt, who claimed to be missing Madeleine McCann, was detained upon landing in the UK.
- The Polish woman was arrested upon suspicion of stalking and harassing Kate and Gerry McCann.
- Julia claimed this week that she had fresh DNA results linking her with Gerry McCann.
- “I would not trust the results that Ms. Wandelt has posted online,” expert Suzanna Ryan told Bored Panda.
23-year-old Julia’s arrest took place moments after her plane landed at Bristol Airport on Wednesday, February 19.
RELATED:
Julia Wandelt, who claimed to be missing Madeleine McCann, was arrested on Wednesday, February 19
Image credits: amijuliawandelt
The self-proclaimed missing child reportedly flew to the UK from Wroclaw, Poland, to meet a friend living in Cardiff.
Fellow travelers were stunned to watch law enforcement officials swoop in and surround Julia inside the airport.
Officers also detained her friend, who is believed to be in her 60s, according to the Daily Mail.
Image credits: Netflix
“I’m trying to find out what’s happened but it appears Julia has been arrested at Bristol Airport this evening just after she got off the plane,” Julia’s representative Surjit Singh Clair told the outlet.
“The police have reportedly arrested her on an allegation of stalking and harassing the McCanns,” he added.
Julia spurred headlines earlier this week when she dropped a fresh set of DNA results to support her claims of being the McCann couple’s missing daughter.
The Polish woman was arrested upon landing in the UK upon suspicion of stalking and harassing Kate and Gerry McCann
Image credits: Rex Features/VidaPress
It was back in February 2023 when she first claimed to the world that she was Madeleine through an Instagram account, @iammadeleinemccann, which no longer exists.
She discussed her claims on Dr. Phil and underwent several DNA tests to prove them.
However, the test results at the time confirmed that she was Polish, with some Lithuanian and Romanian roots. This ruled out any possibility of her being born to British parents Kate and Gerry.
Both the McCanns as well as Julia’s Polish parents refused to provide their DNA for a comparison.
Julia claimed this week that she had fresh DNA results linking her with Gerry McCann
Image credits: _amijuliawandelt
Julia later expressed regret over declaring on Instagram that she was Madeleine McCann and went on to apologize to the McCanns for possibly adding to their misery.
However, that was not the end of it.
Julia once again revived the mystery this week by sharing what she said were new DNA test results.
In a series of Instagram posts shared from the @amijuliawandelt Instagram account, the young woman claimed her “actual DNA results” showed that she is “part British, part Irish.”
Kate and Gerry McCann refused to provide their DNA for a comparison with Julia
Image credits: Netflix
She further claimed that her DNA results were compared to the DNA found at the Madeleine McCann crime scene nearly two decades ago.
The analyzed DNA samples included hair obtained from the floor of the crime scene and saliva obtained from the bed quilt, according to Julia’s ambiguous revelations.
In what Julia touted as a new report of the latest DNA results, there was a 69.23% match, which she said suggested a biological connection between her and Gerry.
Image credits: Netflix
The “conclusion” was that the genetic evidence “strongly supports” that “McCann could be Julia Wandelt’s biological father, as the data aligns perfectly with a parent-child relationship,” according to one Instagram post.
However, Suzanna Ryan from Ryan Forensic, DNA Consulting & Advanced Serology Lab, was skeptical about Julia’s latest claims.
“I would not trust the results that Ms. Wandelt has posted online as there is no laboratory letterhead or accreditation information and clearly some information has been redacted,” she told Bored Panda earlier this week.
“There is no way to tell if these alleged results are accurate based on the limited portion of the report that has been released,” added the expert, who has over two decades of experience in the field of forensic serology and DNA analysis.
“I would not trust the results that Ms. Wandelt has posted online,” expert Suzanna Ryan told Bored Panda
Image credits: amijuliawandelt
One of the biggest questions surrounding Julia’s claims is how she allegedly obtained DNA from the crime scene in the first place.
“Even if she had somehow obtained DNA results or profiles from the crime scene it is unlikely that genealogical testing had been performed on these crime scene samples since it is a newer analysis technique not available at the time of Madeleine’s disappearance,” Suzanna noted.
After a closer look at the “results,” Suzanna believes the 69.23% DNA match likely refers to the amount of genetic material shared between the two crime scene samples and not between Julia and the McCanns.
“This is a high amount of DNA sharing and does indicate a close biological relationship like a parent-child or sibling relationship. However, once again these results appear to be comparing two crime scene samples,” the DNA analyst said.
Image credits: Netflix
Last year, Kate and Gerry released a statement on the 17th anniversary of their daughter’s disappearance.
“The absence still aches,” they said.
The case of Madeleine’s disappearance remains one of the world’s most infamous missing person mysteries. It was also one of the most heavily reported missing cases in modern history.
Madeleine was days away from celebrating her 4th birthday when she vanished from her family’s vacation apartment in Praia da Luz.
She was left with her 2-year-old twin siblings in the family’s unlocked rental apartment while her parents were having dinner about 100 yards away with some friends.
Madeleine McCann’s disappearance was one of the most heavily reported missing cases in modern history
Image credits: Netflix
When Kate came to check on the kids at some point in the night, she found a window open and the toddler missing.
Authorities now believe she may be dead.
Christian Brueckner was identified as the prime suspect in the child’s disappearance. He currently remains in prison for a previous conviction of sexual assault in another case.
The German national was acquitted last year of sexual offense charges related to crimes he was accused of committing in Portugal between 2000 and 2017. These charges were not related to Madeleine’s disappearance.
“Imagine it was her and they’re getting her arrested for harassment,” one social media user commented
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Virgil Blue 10 months ago
It's weird to see so many people on her side. I mean, she doesn't have the eye and the first DNA test didn't fit at all. The second one being different makes no sense at all. Or was she using those kind of sketchy family and me type service?
Ghostpotato 10 months ago
And they all assume we know the whole story. Since she got arrested I feel it's likely she's done a lot more than just post about dna on social media, harassing and stalking suggests she's been, you know, harassing and stalking them...
Load More Replies...
Mavis 10 months ago
The fact that she's been arrested for stalking and harassing tells me there's a lot more stuff she's done to the McCanns that we dont know about. Good on them for not giving her a dna sample, it would only encourage her delusions/scam.
Roxy222uk 10 months ago
The fact not just the McCanns but her own parents refused to play along with her drama says a lot to me.
Load More Replies...
Jrog 10 months ago (edited)
Binitha, your selection of comments from twitter randos is DISGUSTING. You and those nutjobs are supporting a stalker and possibly mentally ill person attempting a scam. Please go back to your celebrity trash articles, at least those -despite being useless and uninteresting- would not hurt actual people.
Dee Day 9 months ago
WTF you calling. Nut Jobs? Watch your daft big gob if I was you
Load More Replies...
Crystalwitch60 10 months ago
GOOD call the asylum to take the lunatic back ! She’s not welcome here the damage she is doing to the mcanns is despicable!! And you lot on her side WAKE UP !!! idiots she’s a scamming lunatic doing nothing but damaging poor maddies memory …its very clear she ain’t her ffs eyes re 100% DIFFERENT !! clearly obvious it’s not her n yup im in the uk ! DNA does not lie unlike this head case !
Christos Arvanitis 10 months ago
Oh Binitha, your lack of critical thinking and your embrace of conspiracy theories is just embarrassing at this point. This woman is a sicko who has been harassing the McCanns. Don't legitimize her nonsense.
Lara Verne 10 months ago
Seems like people support her, but to me, she sounds like mentally ill person or pathological liar. First, she's claiming that she's missing person, then she has DNA test, that prove she's from Poland, then she has another DNA test, with very different result. Hard to believe her.
Deborah B 10 months ago
It's very obviously not the missing kid - the eye difference is in the wrong eye. The independent tests initially preformed show she is the wrong genetic heritage to be a possible match. If there was any potential truth to her claims, the police would have followed up with official bloodtesting. They didn't. She's either mentally ill, a scammer, or both. The McCanns, and her own family, have clearly been advised not to engage with her, which is why they're refusing to provide DNA - she would present testing as them giving credence to her claims, and ignore/discount/misrepresent or deny the results. Exactly as she has with her original DNA results.
The_Nicest_Misanthrope 10 months ago
I'm sorry, but no way that poor little girl is still alive somewhere
All profits to charity 10 months ago
The little girl has an irregular right pupil on her right eye. The lady does not seem to. I’d guess she’s mistaken or worse. Maybe that’s why the parents don’t need to test her?
Virgil Blue 10 months ago
It's weird to see so many people on her side. I mean, she doesn't have the eye and the first DNA test didn't fit at all. The second one being different makes no sense at all. Or was she using those kind of sketchy family and me type service?
Ghostpotato 10 months ago
And they all assume we know the whole story. Since she got arrested I feel it's likely she's done a lot more than just post about dna on social media, harassing and stalking suggests she's been, you know, harassing and stalking them...
Load More Replies... Mavis 10 months ago
The fact that she's been arrested for stalking and harassing tells me there's a lot more stuff she's done to the McCanns that we dont know about. Good on them for not giving her a dna sample, it would only encourage her delusions/scam.
Roxy222uk 10 months ago
The fact not just the McCanns but her own parents refused to play along with her drama says a lot to me.
Load More Replies... Jrog 10 months ago (edited)
Binitha, your selection of comments from twitter randos is DISGUSTING. You and those nutjobs are supporting a stalker and possibly mentally ill person attempting a scam. Please go back to your celebrity trash articles, at least those -despite being useless and uninteresting- would not hurt actual people.
Dee Day 9 months ago
WTF you calling. Nut Jobs? Watch your daft big gob if I was you
Load More Replies... Crystalwitch60 10 months ago
GOOD call the asylum to take the lunatic back ! She’s not welcome here the damage she is doing to the mcanns is despicable!! And you lot on her side WAKE UP !!! idiots she’s a scamming lunatic doing nothing but damaging poor maddies memory …its very clear she ain’t her ffs eyes re 100% DIFFERENT !! clearly obvious it’s not her n yup im in the uk ! DNA does not lie unlike this head case !
Christos Arvanitis 10 months ago
Oh Binitha, your lack of critical thinking and your embrace of conspiracy theories is just embarrassing at this point. This woman is a sicko who has been harassing the McCanns. Don't legitimize her nonsense.
Lara Verne 10 months ago
Seems like people support her, but to me, she sounds like mentally ill person or pathological liar. First, she's claiming that she's missing person, then she has DNA test, that prove she's from Poland, then she has another DNA test, with very different result. Hard to believe her.
Deborah B 10 months ago
It's very obviously not the missing kid - the eye difference is in the wrong eye. The independent tests initially preformed show she is the wrong genetic heritage to be a possible match. If there was any potential truth to her claims, the police would have followed up with official bloodtesting. They didn't. She's either mentally ill, a scammer, or both. The McCanns, and her own family, have clearly been advised not to engage with her, which is why they're refusing to provide DNA - she would present testing as them giving credence to her claims, and ignore/discount/misrepresent or deny the results. Exactly as she has with her original DNA results.
The_Nicest_Misanthrope 10 months ago
I'm sorry, but no way that poor little girl is still alive somewhere
All profits to charity 10 months ago
The little girl has an irregular right pupil on her right eye. The lady does not seem to. I’d guess she’s mistaken or worse. Maybe that’s why the parents don’t need to test her?
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