(Please read to the end of this article for the disturbing "checklist" found on the final page of the diary).
BY CRIME DESK INVESTIGATORS
LONDON — The saga of Julia Wandelt (also known as Julia Faustyna) has reached a terrifying conclusion.
In 2023, the Polish woman captivated the world with her tearful claims that she was Madeleine McCann, the British toddler who vanished in 2007.
The world watched with bated breath. But when DNA tests conclusively proved she was 100% Polish, the cameras turned away.
Julia faded into obscurity. Or so we thought.
Last week, in February 2025, Julia reappeared in the headlines—this time in handcuffs.
She was arrested outside the McCann family home in Rothley, Leicestershire, charged with aggravated stalking.
But the real shock came days later, when police raided her temporary accommodation and found a battered black notebook hidden under a mattress.
THE REHEARSAL FOR FAME
Investigators expected to find the ramblings of a delusional woman.
Instead, they found a cold, calculated business plan.
The notebook, dating back to 2018—five full years before she went public—reveals that Julia did not "suddenly remember" her trauma.
She studied it. She memorized it. She rehearsed it.
THE TIMELINE OF DECEIT
The first half of the notebook is a handwritten transcription of the entire police file on Madeleine McCann.
Julia had meticulously copied out the timeline of the night of May 3, 2007.
She had highlighted the gaps in the parents' alibis. She had circled the descriptions of the kidnapper.
Beside the timeline, she wrote notes to herself in Polish:
"Don't mention the window yet."
"Wait for the interviewer to ask about the plush toy."
"Cry when they show the photo of the mother."
THE SIGNATURE PRACTICE
Perhaps the most chilling section of the evidence is pages 40 through 55.
They are covered in ink.
Julia spent hours practicing the signature of a child she never met.
She wrote "Madeleine" thousands of times, trying to replicate the crude, rounded letters found in the real Madeleine’s childhood drawings.
She was trying to train her muscle memory to forge a ghost's handwriting.
THE EYE DEFECT STRATEGY
The notebook also confirms that Julia was obsessed with Madeleine’s famous eye defect—the coloboma.
One page details her attempts to find a cosmetic surgeon who would alter her pupil.
When that failed, she wrote down lighting techniques to make her eye appear different in Instagram photos.
"Tilt head to the left. Look up. Shadow covers the iris," the note reads.
A FIVE-YEAR CON
"This changes everything," says criminal psychologist Dr. Elias Thorne.
"We thought she was a vulnerable young woman suffering from a mental health crisis. We thought she truly believed her own lies."
"But this notebook proves intent. She wasn't having 'flashbacks.' She was following a script."
The notebook reveals that Julia knew exactly who she was.
She knew she wasn't Madeleine McCann.
But she also knew that if she played the role perfectly, the world wouldn't be able to look away.
THE FINAL CHECKLIST
On the very last page of the diary, found just before her arrest, was a list of goals.
It didn't mention finding her family. It didn't mention finding peace.
It had only three items:
-
Get the DNA test (Delay the results).
Get the book deal.
Move to America.
She got the test. She almost got the fame. But now, she has a prison cell.
Disclaimer: The events, the details regarding the arrest in 2025, and the specific contents of the "rehearsal notebook" described in this article are based on unverified reports, fictionalized scenarios, and current speculation. The information presented requires further official investigation to confirm its authenticity.