A Polish woman claiming to be Madeleine McCann has said she wants to “help people who have been through all kinds of trauma.”
Julia Wendell, 21, appeared on Dr Phil on Monday evening claiming she is Madeleine, who disappeared in 2007 aged three while on a family holiday to Portugal.
Wendell said she began to suspect in June last year, without any evidence to back up her claims.
Wendell, who now teams up with private investigator Dr. Fia Johannson sits in a Los Angeles safehouse after leaving Wroclaw to answer unresolved questions, told RadarOnline.com she is aiming to help others who have experienced abuse after confronting the man who allegedly abused her as a child back in Poland.
Wendell said there may be light at the end of the tunnel for others who have endured pain and abuse.
Julia Wendell, 21, has appeared on US show Dr Phil, where she said she began to suspect she was the missing British girl in June last year, without providing any evidence to back up her claims
Wendell, who now teams up with private investigator Dr. Fia Johannson is in a Los Angeles safe house after leaving Wroclaw to find answers, told RadarOnline.com she strives to help others who have experienced abuse after confronting the man who allegedly abused her as a child. back in Poland
“Even when I didn’t have that much money, I bought food for people who needed food and found a job for a homeless person, so I always try to help people. But now I think I can really help,” Wendell said, adding that she is determined to support those who need help.
“My goal is to help children and teens and adult people who have experienced trauma…not just sexual abuse, but any kind of violence in their childhood [and] in their lives,” she said.
Wendell added, “Like I said before, you have nothing to be ashamed of. It’s nothing shameful. You can’t be ashamed. Your abuser should be ashamed.”
Wendell has no DNA evidence to support her claims and her parents from Poland have also said she fabricated the story.
Wendell said she submitted DNA tests and the results have not yet come back. Her parents have said that “it’s obvious she’s not” Madeleine.
Wendell is an aspiring musician and model. She attracted attention on the internet when she claimed she was the missing girl.
Madeleine, then 3, (pictured) disappeared on a family holiday to Portugal’s Praia da Luz in 2007, which would now make her about 19, two years younger than Wendell – another reason to dismiss her unsubstantiated claims
Dr. Phil asked his guest about her parents, who insist they are her birth parents. She claimed her mother ‘didn’t want to show me any evidence’
Wendell (pictured) claims she began to suspect she was the missing British girl in June last year, without providing any evidence to support her claims
Wendall (right) is assisted by Dr. Fia Johansson (left), a private investigator and psychic medium, at the submission of DNA samples
She made claims about her identity on her now-deactivated Instagram account using the username @IAmMadeleineMcCann.
When Wendell appeared on Dr. Phil appeared, she said, “I believe I’m Madeleine McCann,” questioning her about her nonexistent evidence.
Madeleine disappeared in 2007 while on a family holiday to Praia da Luz in Portugal when she was three years old, which would now make her about 19, two years younger than Wendell.
In December, it was reported that German police could charge 45-year-old suspect Christian Brueckner, a convicted pedophile from Germany and the prime suspect in the ongoing investigation, this year.
When Wendell appeared on Dr Phil, he showed Wendell side-by-side photos of her and Madeleine, which the Polish woman had used to support her theory on social media.
Wendell claimed she had many similarities to the missing Madeleine, and that the rare eye defect she reportedly shares with Madeleine had “faded” after Dr. Phil questioned her about it.
She also said she had a similar smile and dimple to the missing girl.
Wendell claimed that her mother would always change the subject whenever Wendell brought up her birth.
She claimed that she was once shown photos of her early years and her birth certificate. She also noted that her Polish health card used to track health-related items such as vaccinations had six blank pages at the beginning.
These claims were quickly refuted by her Polish parents, who said in a statement: ‘We have memories, we have pictures. Julia has these photos too, because she took them from the family home with the birth certificate, as well as numerous hospital discharges.’
They added that they always tried to understand Julia and her “lies and manipulations.”
They said, “The internet won’t forget, and it’s clear that Julia isn’t Maddie.” We are devastated by this current situation.’
Dr. Phil said to her, “She [Wendell’s mother] says she went to the hospital and gave birth to you,” to which the 21-year-old replied: “She said yes.
“When I asked her for DNA before this whole situation, when I asked her for some photos from her pregnancy, some photos from her childhood…she refused.”
She was asked why she had not sent her DNA samples to the police – since her parentage could be verified once and for all with the test.
Wendell claimed she tried to contact the British and Polish embassies when she first thought she could be Madeleine, but no one would listen to her. She insists she would take any test necessary to prove her claims.
A private investigator involved in Madeleine’s case has said Wendell’s claims are “not true.”
“Without knowing the details thoroughly, it doesn’t make sense to me,” detective Francisco Marco told Spanish newspaper El Independiente. “I don’t think it’s her.”
Kate and Gerry McCann, whose daughter Madeleine disappeared from a holiday apartment in Portugal in 2007
Wendell was assisted by Dr. Fia Johansson, a private investigator and psychic medium, when submitting DNA samples.
Dr. Johansson, 40, who moved Wendell from Poland to the United States after receiving death threats, said: “If it turns out she is British or from that area, then we will continue our investigation into Madeleine McCann and communicate with the detectives in Portugal.’
The psychic medium alleged that Wendell was trafficked from Poland from another country by an international sex group, without providing any evidence.
“We are still conducting an investigation, but Julia is definitely not the biological daughter of her parents in Poland,” Dr. Johansson without evidence.
Dr. Born in Stockholm, Sweden, Johansson described himself on Instagram as a Doctor of Psychology and Human Behavior.