'Fake Madeleine McCann' Julia Wandelt's mom slams Fia Johansson for exploiting their 'sick' daughter
WARSAW, POLAND: The reality behind Julia Wandelt, 21, the Polish woman claiming to be the missing British girl Madeleine McCann has been revealed for the first time. Wandelt's middle-class family lives in an attractive provincial town in Wroclaw city in southwest Poland, 190 miles from the capital Warsaw. They have been deeply disturbed by how the events have snowballed as they claim Juila is 'very sick.'
Her mother Dorota Wandelt-Cholewinski and stepfather Piotr Cholewinski have said that Dr Fia Johansson, a self-styled psychic and mystic who claimed to be helping Juila, is actually 'exploiting her illness." The report also suggested that Julia had, in the past, made similar claims of being a missing toddler.
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'Julia is a very disturbed young woman'
An unnamed family friend told the Daily Mail, "Julia is a very disturbed young woman. Her mother Dorota is just beside herself. She can't believe how this has snowballed. Julia is very sick and Dorota just wants her to get the help she needs." As per the report, after the DNA test which demolished Julia's claims and revealed her as a "fantasist" has returned to Poland but is not with her family.
"It was clear from the beginning that Julia was not Madeleine and Dorota is furious that this so-called doctor exploited the illness of a very young woman." Julia just needed to be home with her family and get the treatment she needed to make the family happy, the source added. As per Dorota, the friend said that the publicity has caused "a fresh grief for the McCann family."
Wandelt's family lives in Wroclaw, Poland
Known for its beautiful Gothic squares and churches, Wroclaw is considered one of the top 100 cities in the world to live in. The family relocated here in 2009 from northern Poland. Dorota and Julia moved into a sophisticated home in an affluent area of the city with Dorota's new husband Piotr, a financial professional, after separating from Julia's father who relocated to Germany. Dorota is a prosperous businesswoman who owns a network of clothing stores. They were able to send Julia to a private school education from Piotr's salary.
Julia rebelled, left home, and was involved with a drug addict
A former school friend of Julia said that she struggled to settle down after moving to Wroclaw at the time when she was 7. Julia switched from a private school to a local primary as "she couldn't settle down." She had aspirations of becoming a "singer and model," but her dreams did not come to fruition, leading to "depression and anger." In her mid-teens, she began claiming that Dorota wasn't her real mother and that she was a "missing child from Poland." This caused distress for her mother, who cared deeply for her. Julia rebelled, left home, and became involved with a drug addict, exacerbating her problems.
She has claimed to be different missing toddlers in the past
She was swiftly corrected when it was pointed out that she was two years older than Madeleine would have been, but she persisted in saying that she was the missing toddler, much to the annoyance of her family. Julia also uses the surnames Faustyna and Wandelt and a Polish charity to say she was a missing German schoolgirl and a missing American toddler.
She first submitted images of herself to Zaginieni Przed Laty officials while posing as five-year-old Inga Gehricke who vanished from Stendal, Germany, in 2015 and hasn't been seen since. Due to the eight-year age difference, her claims were rejected, and it was later discovered that she had made up the tale with a friend. She later got in touch with the charity again and claimed to be the 19-month-old missing child Acacia Bishop who had vanished in 2003 from Utah. However, this time, the charity rejected her allegations.
'It’s quite clear she is not very well and is constantly claiming to be people she isn’t'
A spokesperson for Zaginieni Przed Laty said, "Julia has messaged us twice to say she is a missing person, once to say she was German and once to say she was American." The spokesperson added both claims were incorrect. He said they were helping Julia’s family "as best we can because it’s quite clear she is not very well and is constantly claiming to be people she isn’t." Her family is in disbelief and were unable to understand why Julia was saying all this given that she was much loved by them and continued to do so even when she pushed them away.
The family friend further said, "Her mother was telling everyone her daughter had mental health issues and she asked her to stop lying and spreading these claims but Julia just said she didn't believe Dorota was her mother," adding, "Julia says she doesn't have a birth certificate or photos but she took them with her from the family home in Wroclaw - she has all the documents that prove who she is and she most certainly is not Madeleine McCann."
'She needs serious help'
"She needs serious help" as she has long-standing mental health issues and a history of self-harm. The family can see that Julia is motivated by all the attention she is receiving, the family source added, and in their perspective, Dr Johannson acted irresponsibly by taking advantage of a young woman's sickness. "They don't see why the DNA tests were needed when it is obvious to everyone that Julia is not Madeleine McCann," the friend said.
Julia's claim of having a fractured skull in childhood resulting in memory loss was refuted by her mother. Her mother said, "That is not true." Dr Johansson presented DNA results earlier this week that revealed Julia was from Poland and not missing Madeleine. Johansson said, "At first she didn't want to believe the DNA results, she was saying "What if someone changed the results?" but I told her, "Stop this now".
He said, "I can understand as a psychologist why she didn't want to believe her mother is her real mother. But I told her - she must stop this fixation now that she is Madeleine McCann and accept the result of the DNA test and start to move on with her life."