The parents of the Polish woman, Julia Faustyna, who is claiming to be Madeline McCann, have finally broken their silence on the case to deny the she is the long missing girl.
Madeleine, who was three years old at the time, disappeared from her bed in a holiday apartment in Portugal on May 3, 2007, and has been described as the most heavily reported missing-person case in modern history.
More than 15 years later, the case still remains unsolved, and Julia’s new claims have taken the world by storm in thinking that Madeleine could still be out there. The 21 year-old first came forward on Instagram on 14th February with posts insisting she could be Madeleine, citing two pieces of evidence to prove her identity.
However, Julia’s parents have now denied these claims – saying that she suffers from mental health issues and ignored their pleas to stop her “lies and manipulation.”
“For us as a family it is obvious that Julia is our daughter, granddaughter, sister, niece, cousin and step niece. We have memories, we have pictures,” the family said in a statement through the missing persons’ organization Missing Years Ago.
“Julia also has these photos, because she took them from the family home with the birth certificate, as well as numerous hospital discharges.”
Her family have also explained how Faustyna suffers from mental health issues, and denied pulling her out of therapy, as she claims they did when she started “asking questions.”
“We always tried to help her get back on her feet. Julia has been of age for several years. She has moved out of the house, (she) refuses treatment, doesn’t take medicines regularly,” they went on to say.
“She also did not take advantage of the treatment opportunity at a very good center in Poland, which agreed to accept her,” they added.
As this case continues to gather media attention, and has lead to Faustyna’s Instagram following of 1.1 million, her family. have also questioned their daughters motive behind her claims.
“Julia once wanted to be a singer, a model. She always wanted to be popular. What’s happening now she got one million followers,” the statement added.
“The internet won’t forget, and it’s obvious that Julia isn’t Maddie,” they said. “We are devastated at this current situation. Threats to our address from Julia, her lies and manipulations, activity on the internet.”
“We’ve seen it all and we’ve tried to prevent it, to explain, we’ve asked her to stop,” they said. “We would like to take a stance on Julia’s case, which has spread [to] the internet and media in many countries in recent days.”
Despite her parents denial, in an attempt to prove she is the missing Madeleine McCann, Julia documented her physical similarities in appearance to Madeline – The same mark on her right eye, as well as similar moles and freckles.
On her Instagram @iammadeleinemccan, she has set up a series of highlight sections, which she goes intro further detail on her case, urging people to share her story
She has also posted collages of physical similarities between her and Madeleine’s parents, Gerry and Kate McCann, breaking it down into specific sections such as ‘ears, smile, mouth and nose.’
Additionally, she’s claimed in social media posts that she has post-traumatic amnesia after being sexually abused by a German pedophile whose identity she does not know. But she said she recognizes the alleged attacker in a composite image posted on the Find Madeleine website.
Madeleine’s parents, Gerry and Kate McCann, have previously agreed to take a DNA test, but Johansson said it was “not necessary” to disrupt them.
Julia is still fighting for a DNA test, and her spokesperson has said this in her most recent post:
”If you were a real mom or a mom that raised your child, you have a duty to make sure your family is safe, secure and well. By sending your messages to an online fanpage, or saying you have a spokesman, but they can’t be reached by a working phone or email to get answers is only causing more confusion and suspicion.”
”If you do really care about your daughter, whether she’s your biological daughter or the one you raised, then this is a moment that she needs you most. What she needs at this moment is help.”
”The one thing that will easily bring an answer to everyone is for you to step out of your comfort zone and get into the bottle for DNA and get it done. Then the whole world can sleep tight tonight.”
”Now, in front of everyone, I’m typing this to you and people watching this video– I urge you and your spokesman, to communicate with me directly, to exchange DNA or the evidence to prove that Julia is your real daughter. So far, you’ve denied doing a DNA test, and the world is more suspicious about your behavior as a mom.”
Francisco Marco, a private detective who has led the probe in the case, also has cast doubts on Faustyna’s claims, saying the details “don’t add up.”
“I don’t think it’s her,” Marco, head of the Spanish agency Metodo 3, told Spanish news outlet El Independiente in a translation, 7NEWS reported.
Faustyna also has acknowledged that she “might not be” Madeleine.
