Julia Wandelt a.k.a. Julia Faustyna got international attention in 2023 when she created an Instagram account “@IamMadeleineMcCann,” and publically put forth the possibility of her being the missing child Madeleine McCann.
However her claims were debunked when a DNA test determined she was not Madeleine but of Polish, Lithuanian, and Romanian descent. After the DNA test determined that she was not Madeleine, she tendered an apology to Kate and Gerry McCann for the confusion and distress caused.
Woman claiming to be Madeleine McCann releases ‘bombshell new DNA test results’ – 18 years after the British toddler disappeared in Portugal .. pic.twitter.com/x5rsR8plYN
— Martha (@MGonigle) February 17, 2025
This month Wandelt once again returned to social media under a new Instagram account, @amijuliawandelt in which she made public fresh and updated DNA findings which were analyzed by a well known expert though she did not divulge the name of the expert. The fresh analysis took note of the key genetic markers, such as eye structure, teeth, and voice patterns and they were found to match those of Madeleine McCann.
Wandelt in a series of posts called Kate and Gerry McCann as “my parents” and stated that the latest DNA analysis point out that she is of British /Irish origin and also added that genetic evidence point out to a strong possibility that Gerry McCann could be her biological father. However both Kate and Gerry McCann have declined to participate in any DNA testing to verify her claims.
Wandelt also insisted that there is a 69.23% match between her DNA and the hair and saliva samples collected from the crime scene in Portugal
She stated,
“The genetic evidence strongly supports that (Gerry) McCann could be Julia Wandelt’s biological father, as the data align perfectly with a parent-child relationship. If this analysis is accurate and properly derived from their DNA samples, the relationship between McCann and Julia Wandelt is biologically consistent with that of a father and daughter.”
Wandelt also appeared on U.S. television show Dr.Phil where she negated claims made by her Polish biological parents that she had stolen her own birth certificate and childhood photos to cook up a story.
Wandelt’s spokesperson Surjit Singh Clair once again asked both McCanns and her Polish parents to undergo DNA testing but they both refused. Surjit also condemned the authorities who have spent $39.7 million on this investigation but refused to spend $119 on a DNA test.
Clair told the Daily Mail,
“Despite indicators she is related to Gerry McCann, neither he nor Kate will take a DNA test. Police have denied organizing a DNA test after hearing Julia was Polish on the BBC, but even if she was just ‘a random Polish person,’ how can they possibly explain her DNA being linked to the crime scene?”
Madeleine McCann’s family was on a vacation in Praia da Luz, Portugal on May 3, 2007. Her parents had left Madeleine along with her two younger siblings in their holiday apartment while they were dining in a nearby restaurant.
Madeleine’s parents checked on their children periodically but at about 10 pm her mother Kate McCann discovered that Madeleine was missing. The apartment’s door and windows were also open. A major investigation was commenced but the missing girl’s whereabouts were never uncovered. The case continues to attract worldwide attention to this date.
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