A POLISH woman claiming to be Madeleine McCann has been charged with stalking and harassing Madeleine’s parents.
Julia Wandelt, 23, was arrested as she touched down at Bristol Airport at around 8pm on Wednesday night.
Julia Wandelt has reportedly been arrested[/caption]
Madeleine’s parents, Kate and Gerry McCann[/caption]
Madeleine McCann went missing in Portugal in 2007[/caption]
She had travelled from Wroclaw in Poland, and was due to meet with a friend who lives in Cardiff when she was detained.
Now, Leicestershire Police have now confirmed the 23-year-old has been charged with four counts of stalking.
Two counts relate to offences between May 2 2024 and February 15 2025.
A third count relates to offences between January 3 2024 and April 21 2024.
And the fourth count for offences between November 27 2024 and December 29 2024.
She has been remanded in custody to appear at Leicester Magistrates’ Court today.
Her friend – who is thought to be in her 60s – was also nicked by cops on suspicion of stalking and has been released on police bail.
Julia’s representative Surjit Singh Clair confirmed to The Sun that she was arrested after arriving in the UK that evening.
Madeline McCann vanished on holiday with her parents Gerry and Kate, who were soon made prime suspects by Portuguese police.
Julia became an internet sensation in February 2023 after claiming to be the missing toddler on Instagram, with the Instagram handle @IAmMadeleineMcCann.
She had previously shared DNA test results which concluded she is 100 per cent Polish, and therefore could not be missing Madeleine.
But this week, Julia posted ‘new’ DNA results which apparently revealed she is related to Gerry McCann.
She alleged the results were submitted to a “world expert” who compared them to DNA found at the crime scene in 2007, when Madeleine disappeared in Praia de Luz, Portugal.
Julia claimed experts also matched her eyes, teeth and voice with Madeleine.
She added that her “source” believes the evidence “strongly supports that Gerry McCann could be Julia’s biological father”.
But private investigator Dr Fia Johansson shared shared Wandelt’s DNA results that said she was, in fact, fully Polish in 2023.
Julia said she had previously been “struggling to understand” those results and claimed Dr Johansson was not telling the truth – which the investigator categorically denied.
Earlier this week, Julia shared an audio clip on her Instagram account in which she claims to have tried to speak with Gerry McCann on the phone.
The man hung up on her a few seconds in to the call, saying she must have the wrong number.
Julia previously told the BBC’s disinformation and social media correspondent, Marianna Spring, how she was sexually abused as a young child.
The Polish national told how she first started believing she was Madeleine McCann after noticing similarities between sketches of suspects and her abuser.
She claimed this led to her suffering from gaps in her memory which caused her to become suspicious about her upbringing after her parents dismissed questions on whether she was adopted.
Julia also said she was never shown photos of herself in her early years or a birth certificate.
However, her parents had quickly refuted this and provided evidence.
Madeleine McCann’s disappearance
MADELEINE McCann vanished on May 3, 2007 – and cops believe Brueckner could have been behind her disappearance.
Almost 17 years on, no one has been charged in connection. These are the key dates
May 3, 2007 – Kate McCann finds Madeleine missing at 10pm
May 14, 2007 – Property developer Robert Murat is named an “arguido” or formal suspect
August 31, 2007 – The McCanns launch libel action against Tal e Qual – a newspaper that claimed the couple killed Madeleine
September 7, 2007 – Kate and Gerry McCann are made “arguidos”
September 9, 2007– Madeleine’s parents return to England with their two-year-old twins
October 2, 2007– Lead detective Goncalo Amaral is taken off the case after criticising British police in a newspaper interview
July 21, 2009 – Portuguese police lift the “arguido” status of both Robert Murat and the McCanns
May 12, 2011 – On Madeleine’s eighth birthday, Scotland Yard launches a review into the case
April 25, 2012 – Scotland Yard officers say they believe Madeleine McCann is still alive
July 4, 2013 – Two years into a review of the case, Scotland Yard launched its own investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance
October 24, 2013– Portuguese police reopen their case after new lines of inquiry are found
November 27, 2013 – Met Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe called for British and Portuguese police to work together
October 28, 2015 – Scotland Yard reduces the number of officers working on Madeleine’s disappearance
March 11, 2017 – The Home Office grants Operation Grange an extra £85,000 to continue from April until September
September 28, 2017 – British police are granted £154,000 to keep the probe going until March 2018
November 2017 – Cops moved the search to Bulgaria
May 2018 – Another round of funding, thought to be in the region of £150,000 is granted
September 2018 – An extra six months of funding is requested from the Home Office
November 2018 – More funding, thought to be in the region of £150,000 is granted
November 2018 – UK police re-examine a theory Madeleine left the apartment to look for her parents
June 2019 – Another round of funding, believed to be £300,000 of government cash is granted
June 2019 – Portuguese police are probing a “new clue and suspect” after talks with British officers
June 2020 – New prime suspect revealed as a German paedo Christian Brueckner
April 2022 – Brueckner formally made an “arguido”
May 2023 – Police search remote Algarve reservoir Brueckner called his “little paradise”
