Woman who thought she was Madeleine McCann had £25k bounty on head and is sorry

The younger girl who claimed to be Madeleine McCann has stated she “never meant to hurt anyone” in a brand new interview.

Julia Wandelt, the 22-year-old Polish girl who posted on social media that she thought she was Madeleine McCann, will characteristic on the BBC Radio 4 podcast collection ‘Why Do You Hate Me?’

In a chat with the broadcaster, she apologised for turning into concerned in one of many world’s most infamous lacking individual instances.

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Julia final 12 months created an Instagram account referred to as ‘Iammaddeleinemccan’, referring to the British lady who went lacking in Portugal in 2007.



Julia thought she was the British lady who went lacking in Portugal in 2007
(Image: PA)

“I never meant to hurt anyone – including [the] McCanns,” she advised the BBC, “I really wanted to know who I am.”

Julia said if she could go back in time she would never have made the account.

“I would never go on social media. It can destroy you,” she explained. She racked up a million followers, but social media notoriety also brought criticism and abuse.

“I knew that there will be people who will not believe me or hate me, but I didn’t expect that I will get that death threats, for example. It was something that I don’t understand. People knew that I was abused and they all knew that I deal with depression,” Julia said.

“I was trying to be strong even when people said ‘you should die. You should be raped. You should be killed. You should be murdered. You shouldn’t exist in this world. You’re a b***h.”



Julia stated if she may return in time she would by no means have made the account

One individual stated she’d put a bounty on Julia’s head – and provided €30,000 (£25,700) as a reward.

She advised the BBC she believed on the time she had the suitable to query who she was, and believed that she may have the ability to assist the McCanns discover their youngster.

Julia claimed what occurred had its roots in a traumatic childhood, partly attributable to being remoted at college.

Aged about 20, she was in remedy and began to grasp her recollections from childhood had been patchy.

Frustrated by her household’s silence, Julia turned to the web for solutions and began googling lacking individuals web sites and located Madeleine’s case. She stated she’d by no means heard of her disappearance earlier than, and that it hadn’t been a serious information story in Poland.



Julia claimed what occurred had its roots in a traumatic childhood, partly attributable to being remoted at college
(Image: help-for-julia-wandelt/gogetfunding)

Julia was satisfied her household may not be her personal.

Both Julia and Madeleine have a coloboma of the iris – a uncommon eye abnormality that may make the pupil look keyhole-shaped.

Julia contacted the police in Poland and the UK.

“I called them so many times and I called them and said the same things daily, like many times. But no one treated me seriously,” she advised the BBC Radio 4 podcast.

Despite being re-buffed, Julia saved posting to search out out “the truth” about the place she got here from.

Julia determined to take a DNA check. She says neither her mother and father nor the McCanns agreed to offer DNA samples for Julia’s to be in contrast towards. But when the outcomes arrived, they conclusively confirmed she isn’t Madeleine McCann.

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