Canoe Man 'Cried And Begged' To Come Home

The wife of 'back-from-the-dead' canoeist John Darwin has told Teesside Crown Court that he had cried and begged her to let him come home after staging his own death.

Anne Darwin, 56, faces six charges of deception and nine charges of money laundering linked to insurance payments, in connection with her husband's disappearance. She has denied the charges.

In court on Wednesday, the jury heard how Mrs Darwin had told police investigating her role in the fraud that she had been inclined to leave her husband where he was hiding.

Mr Darwin vanished in 2002. His battered canoe was found in the sea, near his home at Seaton Carew in Hartlepool and he was declared dead the following year. However, he reappeared last December, walking into a west London police station and claiming to have no memory of the last five years.

Mr Darwin has already pleaded guilty to seven charges of deception and one charge of making false statements in order to procure a passport. He is due to be sentenced at a later date.

In court today, the jury heard transcripts of interviews that police conducted with Mrs Darwin. During the interviews, Mrs Darwin reveals how her husband had pleaded to come home from his hiding places, within weeks of his disappearance, and how she finally agreed.

Mrs Darwin also told police how her husband had lived next door to the family home in a bedsit.

She had described Mr Darwin's attempt at faking his own death as "a ridiculous idea" and said that she had argued with him, saying that the couple should declare themselves bankrupt. However, she told police: "He said we had both worked hard all our lives and he didn't want to lose everything he had worked for."

Mrs Darwin added: "I knew it was stupid, but once I set out along the road, it was difficult to turn back."

Mrs Darwin also told police that deceiving the couple's two sons, Mark, 32, and Anthony, 29, had been "extremely painful".

The trial continues.

(KMcA/JM)