Five years after the shattered remains of his red canoe were discovered
on a beach, John Darwin suddenly reappeared in a police station. Despite
a massive search following his disappearance in 2002, John Darwin's body
was never found, and his wife Anne spoke of her anguish at not being
able to lay her husband to rest. Family and friends were amazed and
delighted at John s return, but soon intriguing evidence was revealed.
Cleveland police had reopened the case in September 2007 after they
received new information that raised suspicions over Darwin's apparent
disappearance. Photographs were then uncovered showing John and Anne
together in Panama in 2006, and it soon became clear thatfar from being
the miraculous return of a lost canoeistthis was a case of serious
fraud. In fact, Anne had cashed in her husband's life insurance policies
and was claiming a widow's pension while John lived in hiding at the
couple's home. In 2004 he obtained a false passport in the name of John
Jones, allowing him to travel with his wife to Panama where they
intended to set up home. John and Anne were subsequently arrested on
suspicion of fraud and remanded in custody. This is the remarkable story
of the man who came back from the dead, the wife who concealed his
existence from the world, and the web of lies that unraveled to reveal
the incredible truth of the Darwins' deception."
