Death faker John Darwin’s wife opens up about children’s anguish after he pretended to drown in insurance fraud
Anne Darwin said she inflicted the 'cruellest possible deception' on her two sons who believed their father was dead for years
THE WIFE of John Darwin has spoken out about how his faked death as part of an insurance scam effected their sons.
Anne Darwin has opened up about the couple's deception which involved John staging a canoe accident in 2002 in order to claim life insurance.
Writing on the Mail, Anne Darwin, said she told John on the phone when he was 'missing' that his sons, Mark and Anthony, were 'desperately hoping' that he was alive to which John replied simply 'they'll get over it'.
The mother of two added: "As the world now knows, my husband and I had inflicted the cruellest possible deception on those we loved by pretending he had drowned so we could claim the insurance money to pay off our debts.
How could any mother sink so low? It is a question I ask myself
"God knows what the boys would have thought of me had they known that their dad was alive and well inside the family home just a few yards behind us — possibly even watching from a window, for all I knew."
She also said when her husband returned home and hid in the family basement she continued to plead with him to tell their sons he was alive saying they were 'suffering and grieving too much'.
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Debt-ridden John, once a school teacher, spent three months planning the crazy fake death scam as a way of avoiding bankruptcy.
He planned a new life for the couple in Panama, using £250,000 in insurance and pension pay outs.
John vanished in March 2002, making it look as if he had been lost at sea while out canoeing.
He then spent several years hiding in a house adjoining his home in Seaton Carew, Hartlepool, as Anne acted the role of a widow.
The world believed he was dead until he reappeared at a London police station in 2008, claiming he had lost his memory.
In 2008 the pair were sentenced at Teeside Crown Court.
Anne was sentenced to six years and six months in prison while John received three months less.
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