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Daily Record
Daily Record
World
Ewan Gleadow & Jordan Shepherd

Woman claiming to be Madeleine McCann 'suffered brain injury that erased memory'

A Polish woman who claims to be missing Madeleine McCann has said a skull fracture erased parts of her memory. Julia Wendell has reportedly claimed a mystery fracture to her skull made her forget much of her early life.

According to medical records obtained by private investigator Dr Fia Johansson, Wendell was left unable to speak or walk for over a year when she was eight following the traumatic injury. The claims come after the now 21-year-old told reporters she was trafficked to Poland, pointing to missing medical records as evidence.

RadarOnline reports over 500 pages of Wendell's medical records have been obtained by Dr Johansson who has been trying to figure out who took the girl to the hospital when she received emergency brain surgery to reduce swelling. According to the Daily Star, she has recalled a traumatic event during her childhood in Poland which seen her hide in the bathroom stall with another Polish girl.

Wendell told RadarOnline: "We shouted and cried, panicked, we didn’t want to (leave the) toilet."

Dr Johansson has told how she believes that those looking after the woman "wanted to get rid of her" after allegedly forcing her to take 35 prescription pills a day during her childhood.

Dr Johansson said: "It shows that some of them or all of them or one of them wanted to get rid of her. Or complicate her life where she would not be able to walk or talk or say anything. It seems like they purposely tried to do it."

Speaking on the hospital records, which show Wendell entered in a near-comatose state on February 17, 2009, Fia added: "She does not remember any of it."

Dr Johansson had previously went to Poland and found no hospital records relating to the woman's first five years of life, leading her to conclude she was trafficked to Poland.

Wendell's family have denied her claims.

Wendell and Dr Johansson are still awaiting the results of DNA and genetics tests.

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