A Polish woman who claimed to be Madeleine McCann is not the missing British girl, DNA testing has shown.
Julia Wendell, 21, became an internet sensation when she claimed to be Madeleine – despite her own parents labeling her claims as ‘lies and manipulation’.
She even appeared on the American talk show Dr Phil, where she said she started to suspect she was Madeleine last June, and insisted she was the missing girl, but failed to provide any evidence.
But just days after her appearance on TV, she received the results of a DNA test that showed she was not the missing girl.
Instead, the DNA results showed that she was indeed from Poland — as her parents had maintained — with Lithuanian and Romanian ancestry, reports radar online.
Julia Wendell, 21, has even appeared on the 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.
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 . DNA results have now confirmed that Wendell is not Madeleine
“She’s definitely 100 percent from Poland,” said Dr. Fia Johansson, a private investigator and psychic medium who has assisted Wendell.
“She is a small percentage of Lithuanian and Russian, but the test results show she is Polish,” added Dr Johansson, who relocated the Polish woman from Poland to the United States after receiving death threats.
Wendell’s own parents said she fabricated the claims and that “it’s obvious she’s not” Madeleine.
Madeleine, from Rothley in Leicestershire, disappeared in 2007 while on a family holiday in Portugal’s Praia da Luz when she was three.
This would now make her around 19, two years younger than Wendell – a fact that left many skeptical.
Wendell also said she cannot remember large parts of her childhood and is unsure of her age because she has not seen her birth certificate – a claim strongly refuted by her parents.
She said, “I don’t remember most of my childhood, but my earliest memory is very strong and it is about holidays in a warm place with a beach and white or very light-colored apartment buildings. I don’t see my family in this memory.’
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. Her claims have now been disproved after DNA test results showed she is not Madeleine McCann
Dr. Phil showed Wendell side-by-side photos of her and Madeleine, which the Polish woman had used to promote her now-debunked theory on social media.
Wendell insisted she shares many similarities with the missing Madeleine, and that the rare eye defect she claimed to share with Madeleine had “faded” after Dr. Phil questioned her about it.
She said she also had a similar smile and dimple with the missing girl.
Wendell claimed that her mother would always change the subject when Wendell brought up her birth and “wouldn’t show me any evidence.”
Dr. Phil said to her, “She [Wendell’s mother] says she went to the hospital and gave birth to you.’
The Polish woman 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.’
Wendell had claimed she was never given any photos of herself in her early years or a birth certificate, her parents quickly refuted this – and provided proof.
They said in a statement: “It is clear to us as a family that Julia is our daughter, granddaughter, sister, niece, nephew and stepniece. We have memories, we have pictures.
Wendell (right) is assisted by Dr. Fia Johansson (left), a private investigator and psychic medium, at the submission of DNA samples
“Julia has these photos too, because she took them from the family home with the birth certificate, as well as numerous hospital discharges.
“We always tried to understand all the situations that arose with Julia. Julia’s threats to us, her lies and manipulations, activities on the Internet… we’ve seen it all and we’ve tried to prevent it, explain it, we’ve asked her to stop.’
She added: “We always tried to get her back on her feet. Julia has been of age for several years. She left the house.
“She is refusing treatment, not taking regular medication. She also did not take the opportunity to be treated in a very good center in Poland, which agreed to accept her.’
They explained that they had offered to provide Wendell with therapists, medications and support over the years, adding, “Julia wanted to be a singer one day, a model. She always wanted to be popular. What is happening now is she [has] 1 million followers.
The internet won’t forget, and it’s clear that Julia isn’t Maddie. We are devastated by this current situation.’