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*April 2003: An inquest hearing was held at Hartlepool County Court. Hartlepool coronor Malcolm Donnelly records an open verdict. |
*April 2003: An inquest hearing was held at Hartlepool County Court. Hartlepool coronor Malcolm Donnelly records an open verdict. |
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*April 2003: A death certificate was issued despite the lack of a body. It states that John Darwin "probably encountered difficulties, as a result of which he died". This allows widow Anne to claim on his life insurance.. |
*April 2003: A death certificate was issued despite the lack of a body. It states that John Darwin "probably encountered difficulties, as a result of which he died". This allows widow Anne to claim on his life insurance.. |
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*Sometime in 2003: Lee Wadrop a tenant of the block of bedsit flats the Darwins owned recognised Mr Darwin and asked him "aren't you supposed to be dead" to which Mr Darwin replied "don't tell anyone about this". Mr Wadrop had not told the police because he "did not want to get involved". |
*Sometime in 2003: Lee Wadrop a tenant of the block of bedsit flats the Darwins owned recognised Mr Darwin and asked him "aren't you supposed to be dead" to which Mr Darwin replied "don't tell anyone about this". Mr Wadrop had not told the police because he "did not want to get involved".<ref name="telegraph1">{{cite web|title=Canoe man's wife lands back in Britain |
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|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/12/09/ncanoe309.xml|date=[[2007-12-09]]|accessdate=2007-12-09|publisher=Telegraph.c.uk}}</ref> |
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Mid 2003: £25,000 of a £50,000 insurance policy is paid out as well as a much larger one which paid off the £130,000 mortgage. |
Mid 2003: £25,000 of a £50,000 insurance policy is paid out as well as a much larger one which paid off the £130,000 mortgage. |
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*2004: The couple decide to move abroad. Australia, Falklands, Canada, and Cyprus are considered. |
*2004: The couple decide to move abroad. Australia, Falklands, Canada, and Cyprus are considered. |
Revision as of 21:31, 9 December 2007
John Darwin disappearance case | |
---|---|
Status | Held for Questioning[1] |
Occupation(s) | Former Teacher and Prison officer[3][4] |
Spouse | Anne Darwin (nee Stephenson)[4] |
Children | Mark Darwin, Anthony Darwin[4] |
Criminal charge | Fraud[1] |
John Ronald Darwin (born 14 August, 1950) is a former British prison officer who was declared dead[3] after he disappeared in March 2002 while canoeing in the sea at Seaton Carew, near Hartlepool.[5] Despite a huge search operation, and the fact that the weather had been calm, only his paddle was found, followed weeks later by the wreckage of his canoe.[6]
However, on 1 December, 2007 Darwin walked into West End Central police station in London, claiming to have no memory of the past five years. His wife Anne, who had sold up her properties in England and moved to Panama three months before his re-appearance, expressed surprise, joy and elation at the return of her missing husband.
Their story started to unravel when on 5th December 2007 the Daily Mirror published a photo of John and Anne Darwin taken in Panama in 2006. Anne reportedly confirmed that the photograph was of John, saying "Yes, that's him. My sons will never forgive me".[7] The photograph was discovered when a member of the public typed the words "John", "Anne" and "Panama" into Google Images. The photo was featured on the website movetopanama.com and brought to the attention of the Daily Mirror and Cleveland Police.[8]
Police had begun inquiries into the financial circumstances of the case three months before Darwin's reappearance, following a report made by one of Anne Darwin's work colleagues who had overheard a heated conversation that Mrs Darwin was having with a person who appeared to be her "dead" husband. Mrs Darwin was known to have claimed on her husband's life insurance and then emigrated to Panama, so the possibility that she knew him to be alive suggested an irregularity.
John Darwin's two sons initially expressed elation at the return of their father but, as the story unfolded, they issued a joint statement stating that they felt they had been victims of a scam, and implying that they wished to have no further contact with their parents. Both sons were reported to have ended their jobs in the weeks prior to their father's re-appearance. On 6 December one of John Darwin's sons allegedly disappeared after clearing out his North London flat and leaving a notebook supposedly containing coded messages for his girlfriend together with instructions for her on how to get to London City Airport. Police have emphasized that he is not suspected of any crime.[9]
John Darwin had been using the name "John Jones" in a false passport and other documentation.[10]. Police examined the passport in order to piece together Darwin's movements in the previous five years; it reportedly showed several trips to Panama.
On 8 December the Daily Mail quoted Mrs Anne Darwin as saying that, although she initially thought her husband was dead, he turned up at their home in 2003 and lived secretly, there and in an adjacent bedsit that she owned for about three years. He entered the home from the bedsit through a secret hole in the wall hidden behind a wardrobe with a false back. The article states that, two months after he had moved back in with Anne, she was persuaded to attend an inquest into his death so that she could claim the life insurance. John was pronounced dead, and the life insurance company paid only half of the £50,000 policy total because no body had been found. Anne said he had faked his death to escape financial difficulties arising from properties they owned. She claimed that he had decided to return publicly because he missed his sons (who had not been aware he was still alive).[2] Darwin was charged, later that day, with obtaining life insurance money by deception and making an untrue statement to get a passport.[11]
On 9 December 2007 Anne Darwin was arrested at Manchester Airport, on her arrival back in the UK. She was detained in connection with allegations of fraud.[12]
Timeline
The following timeline has been compiled from widely available newspaper reports. Accuracy is only as good as the accuaracy of the journalists.
- 14 August 1950: John Darwin is born. [3]
- 22 December 1973: John and Anne Darwin are married at St Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, in Blackhall.
- January 2002: John's Friends Reunited website entry expresses a desire to "retire soon".
- early 2002: John Darwin tells his wife he is planning a dissappearing act because of debts.
- 21 March 2002: 08:00 GMT John Darwin is seen paddling out to sea in his canoe and vanishes. [13]
- 21 March 2002: 21:30 GMT John Darwin is reported as "missing" after failing to turn up for work that evening. A massive sea search takes place.[13]
- 22 March 2002: 01:15 GMT: A double-ended paddle is retrieved from the sea near North Gare, Seaton Carew. 62 square miles of coastline is searched, but there is no sign of Darwin or his canoe.[13]
- April or May 2002 (exact date uncertain, but "several weeks" after March 21/22 [14]): The wreckage of John Darwin's canoe is found.
- Mid 2002: A police trawl of e-mails up until his disappearance appeared to show he was conducting relationships with women in the US.
- 20 September 2002: Cleveland Police make a renewed appeal for information in the case. [14]
- February 2003: John Darwin knocks at his old front door and moves back in with his wife.
- April 2003: An inquest hearing was held at Hartlepool County Court. Hartlepool coronor Malcolm Donnelly records an open verdict.
- April 2003: A death certificate was issued despite the lack of a body. It states that John Darwin "probably encountered difficulties, as a result of which he died". This allows widow Anne to claim on his life insurance..
- Sometime in 2003: Lee Wadrop a tenant of the block of bedsit flats the Darwins owned recognised Mr Darwin and asked him "aren't you supposed to be dead" to which Mr Darwin replied "don't tell anyone about this". Mr Wadrop had not told the police because he "did not want to get involved".[9]
Mid 2003: £25,000 of a £50,000 insurance policy is paid out as well as a much larger one which paid off the £130,000 mortgage.
- 2004: The couple decide to move abroad. Australia, Falklands, Canada, and Cyprus are considered.
- 2004: John Darwin applies for, and obtains a passport using the false name "John Jones" but using his true home address.
- November 2004: The couple visit Cyprus to check out buying property there.
- May 2005: Date that an angler called Matt Autie 31 claims to have met John Darwin at a lake near Penzance.
- 2005: John is spending most time on the internet at home and meets a lady from Kansas whom he flies out to meet.
- 12 November 2005: John flies from Newcastle to Gibralter end enters Spain to view a £45,000 60ft Catamaran he is thinking of buying.
- 15 November 2005: John flies back to the UK.
- 9 March 2006: John Darwin signs a planning objection to a neighbour's plans using a false name.
- 2006: John takes a liking to Panama after research on the internet. The couple fly from Newcastle to Panama.
- 14 July 2006: Date on a photo of the couple on a Panamanian property website.
- February 2007: the couple fly to Panama for a week.
- February 2007: Date on newspapers found in the boarded up gap between the Darwins' house and his hideaway, presumably just before the hole was closed.
- March 2007: The couple return to Panama.
- March 2007: They form a company called Jaguar Properties to buy a two bedroom apartment in El Dorado for £50,000.
- March 2007: The bedsit house next to the family home is sold. Mrs Darwin had put it in son Mark's name in 2006.
- March 2007: Month that Mark is reported to have transferred funds to Panama.
- April 2007: Mrs Darwin returns to the UK to sell her house. Her husband stays in Panama.
- May 2007: The couple bought a £200,000 tropical estate in the village of Escobal, near the Panama Canal for canoeing holidays.
- July 2007: Mrs Darwin returns to Panama, staying 6 weeks.
- August 2007: Son Anthony leaves his insurance job.
- September 2007: One of Mrs Darwin's work colleagues overhears a phone conversation between the couple.
- September 2007: A police investigation is started following the conversation and suspicious money transfers.
- October 2007: Their family home in the UK is sold for £295,000.
- October 2007: Mrs Darwin flies back to Panama,
- Third week of November 2007: The couple enjoy a holiday in Costa Rica before returning to Panama.
- 30 November 2007: Mrs Darwin buys her husband an airline ticket to England because "he was missing his sons".
- 30 November 2007: Son Mark Darwin leaves his property firm after working his notice period.
- 1 December 2007: 5:30pm John Darwin walked into West End Central police station in London, claiming to have no memory since 2000.
- 2 December 2007: Sons, Mark, 31, and Anthony 29 meet him at the Police Station and then break the "news" to their mother.
- 3 December 2007: John's father, Ronald 90, says the "dissappearance" didn't feel right.
- 4 December 2007: Anne Darwin speaking from Panama says she is thrilled her husband is alive and is looking forward to seeing him again.
- 4 December 2007: Anne Darwin's Facebook page is removed, this required her email address and her password.
- 5 December 2007: The Daily Mirror published a photo of Darwin with his wife taken in Panama in July 2006. In an interview with the press, Mrs Darwin says the picture is genuine.
- 5 December 2007: John Darwin is arrested.
- 5 December 2007: Sons Mark and Anthony express anger and say they fear they are victims of a large scam.
- 6 December 2007: Flatmates of son Mark Darwin 31 call the police after they find he cleared out his flat in middle of the night.
- 8 December 2007: The Daily Mail publishes a story of an interview with Mrs Darwin in which she tells her side of the story.
- 8 December 2007: 17:00 John is charged with obtaining a money transfer by deception and making an untrue statement to obtain a passport.
- 9 December 2007: Anne Darwin voluntarily returns to the UK and lands at Manchester Airport where she is formally arrested and taken to Cleveland for further questioning.
- 10 December 2007: John is arraigned to appear at Hartlepool Magistrates' Court.
See also
- List of premature obituaries for similar cases
- Pseudocide - the act of faking one's own death
References
- ^ a b "'Missing' man charged by police". BBC News. 2007-12-08. Retrieved 2007-12-08.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ a b Clarke, Natalie (2007-12-08). "Canoe widow's full confession". Daily Mail. Retrieved 2007-12-08.
{{cite web}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=
ignored (|author=
suggested) (help) - ^ a b c d "Revealed: The document that shows Darwin was officially dead". Daily Mail. Retrieved 2007-12-09.
- ^ a b c "The Mystery of John Darwin". The Guardian. 2007-12-05. Retrieved 2007-12-08.
{{cite web}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ "Canoeist probe 'began months ago'". BBC News. 2007-12-05. Retrieved 2007-12-08.
{{cite web}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ "How the Panama plot unravelled". The Scotsman. 2007-12-06. Retrieved 2007-12-08.
{{cite web}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ "Wife confronted with Panama photo". Guardian Unlimited. 2007-12-06. Retrieved 2007-12-08.
{{cite web}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ Weaver, Matthew (2007-12-06). "Woman found canoeist photo via Google". Guardian Unlimited. Retrieved 2007-12-08.
{{cite web}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ a b Peck, Sally (2007-12-07). "Canoeist mystery: new twist as son disappears". Telegraph. Retrieved 2007-12-08.
{{cite web}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=
ignored (|author=
suggested) (help) Cite error: The named reference "telegraph1" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page). - ^ Allen, Nick (2007-12-08). "'Dead' canoeist used a fake passport". Retrieved 2007-12-08.
{{cite web}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ Police await canoeist wife move BBC, 2007-12-09
- ^ Canoeist wife arrested back in UK BBC, 2007-12-09
- ^ a b c "Sea search for Missing Canoeist". BBC News. 2002-03-22. Retrieved 2007-12-09.
{{cite web}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ a b "Renewed appeal for missing canoeist". BBC News. 2002-09-20. Retrieved 2007-12-09.
{{cite web}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help)