The woman who claims she’s Madeleine McCann, Julia Wandelt, has now been formally charged with stalking after being arrested at Bristol airport earlier this week.
Julia, who also goes by Julia Faustyna and Julia Wendell, has been claiming she’s the missing girl since 2023. Though she disappeared for some time after a psychic refuted her claims, she returned in November with a boatload of so-called evidence. Said evidence included facial comparisons, voice and teeth analysis, and further DNA analysis.
On Wednesday, after attempting to fly into the UK, Julia and another woman were arrested at Bristol airport on suspicion of stalking.
Leicestershire Police told The Sun: “Last night (Wednesday 19 February) two women were arrested at Bristol Airport as part of an ongoing investigation.
“A 23-year-old woman from Poland and a 60-year-old woman from Wales were arrested on suspicion of stalking involving serious alarm/distress. They both remain in custody and enquiries are continuing.”
Julia Wandelt has now been charged with stalking Madeleine McCann’s family
Though it’s not immediately clear why Julia was in the UK, it’s believed that she was set to meet a friend in Cardiff before being arrested. At the time, her rep confirmed the news.
“She was arrested at around 8 pm in Bristol airport and remains in custody. I’m not prepared to make any further comment,” they said. “The police have reportedly arrested her on an allegation of stalking and harassing the McCanns.”
According to the MailOnline, Julia was formally charged with “stalking offences” on Thursday over incidents that happened across 2024 and into 2025. She was accused of causing serious alarm or distress against Kate McCann, Gerald McCann, Madeleine’s sister Amelie, and her brother Sean. This allegedly included sending letters, calls, voicemails and WhatsApp messages, and also turning up at their home address.
The 60-year-old woman who was arrested alongside Julia has been released on bail.
A police spokesperson told the Mail: “A woman has been charged with stalking offences following her arrest at Bristol Airport on Wednesday (19 February).
“Julia Wandel – also known as Julia Wandelt – 23, of Lubin, Poland, has been charged with four counts of stalking.
“Two counts relate to offences between 2 May 2024 and 15 February 2025, a third count relates to offences between 3 January 2024 and 21 April 2024, and the fourth count for offences between 27 November 2024 and 29 December 2024. She has been remanded in custody to appear at Leicester Magistrates’ Court today (Friday 21 February).
“The 60-year-old, from Wales, arrested on suspicion of stalking, has been released on police bail.”
Featured image credit: Julia Wandelt & Shutterstock
