A Polish woman who claimed to be missing toddler Madeleine McCann has returned with brand-new DNA test results to support her assertions.
This time, she said the results show a shocking connection to the missing girl’s father, Gerry McCann.
At the age of 3, Madeleine vanished from her bed in a holiday resort in Portugal on May 3, 2007. Her British parents Gerry and Kate McCann were dining at a nearby tapas bar at the time of her disappearance.
A woman named Julia Wandelt made fresh claims about being Madeleine McCann
While there are no definitive answers about what happened to Madeleine that night, a woman named Julia Wandelt claims she was the one who disappeared from the holiday apartment.
Julia has shared a fresh set of DNA results, submitted by a “world expert,” on her Instagram account called @amijuliawandelt.
In one Instagram post, she said her DNA results were compared to the DNA found at the Madeleine McCann crime scene in Portugal.
At the age of 3, Madeleine vanished from her bed during a family trip to Portugal
“My actual DNA results show that I am part British, part Irish,” she said.
As per her revelations, the analyzed DNA samples included hair obtained from the floor of the crime scene and saliva obtained from the bed quilt.
The results reportedly showed a 69.23% match, seemingly suggesting a biological connection between her and Gerry.
Julia released a series of Instagram posts related to new DNA test results
Julia’s post said 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.”
Furthermore, the 23-year-old woman released results from Face++, described in her post as a “highly accurate” facial recognition technology.
When Julia’s face was compared to young Madeleine’s, the results came back as “a very high” match, her social media post said.
The self-proclaimed missing child said in a series of Instagram posts that the new DNA results were analyzed and interpreted by forensic expert Dr. Monte Miller, who has a PhD in biochemistry from Loma Linda University in California.
“The simple answer is that the suspect is not the source of the DNA on the evidence, because their DNA is not fully established EVERYWHERE,” Dr. Monte said in an emailed response to Julia.
However, the expert noted that the results match fairly well.
The latest DNA results claimed Julia is part British and part Irish
“A specific pattern emerges that looks like an almost certain family connection,” he added.
Reports say Julia is currently 23 years old. However, Madeleine, who was born on May 12, 2003, would have only turned 22 this year.
Julia, who also goes by Julia Wendell and Julia Faustyna, first made headlines in February 2023, when she claimed to the world that she was Madeleine.
She made the declaration through an Instagram account, @iammadeleinemccann, which no longer exists.
Julia went on to appear on Dr. Phil to talk about her claims and underwent several DNA tests to prove she was Madeleine McCann.
However, previous test results confirmed that she was Polish with some Lithuanian and Romanian roots, thus ruling out the possibility of her being born to Kate and Gerry.
Both the McCanns and Julia’s Polish parents refused to provide their DNA for a comparison.
Previous DNA tests confirmed she was Polish and dispelled the claims she first made in 2003
“For us as a family it is obvious that Julia is our daughter, granddaughter, sister, niece, cousin and step-niece. We have memories, we have pictures,” Julia’s Polish family said in a statement when the previous results were released.
The new DNA test results indicate she is part British and part Irish, potentially contradicting earlier findings.
About a year after her Dr. Phil appearance, Julia told BBC that she regretted making the Madeleine McCann profile in the first place.
She also apologized to the McCanns as she was concerned about adding to their heartache.
When Julia spoke to BBC about her younger years, she said her memories from her childhood were patchy.
The McCanns refused to participate in a DNA comparison with Julia
While she couldn’t remember bits and pieces of her childhood, she said she was sexually abused as a child.
She also noted that she was isolated in school.
When Julia raised suspicions about her upbringing with her Polish parents, she said they dismissed notions about her being adopted.
The case of Madeleine’s disappearance remains one of the world’s most infamous missing person mysteries.
On the anniversary of her disappearance last year, Kate and Gerry said it had been 17 years since their daughter “was taken” from them.
They said they were “fortunate” to live a relatively “normal and enjoyable” life at the time, but that “‘living in limbo’ [was] still very unsettling.”
“The absence still aches,” the parents said in their statement.
“I believe that I am Madeleine McCann,” Julia said during a Dr. Phil appearance
German national Christian Brueckner was identified as the prime suspect in the toddler’s disappearance.
He was acquitted last year of sexual offense charges related to crimes he was accused of committing in Portugal between 2000 and 2017.
The charges were unrelated to Madeleine’s appearance.
He remains in prison for a previous conviction of sexual assault in another case.
Julia’s latest revelations sparked mixed opinions online
