On March 21, 2002, Englishman John Darwin took a canoe out to sea and was swept away. His wife, Anne Darwin, reported her husband missing to the police, but his body was never found. Over the next few years, she started rebuilding her life until, in 2007, she finally told her sons she needed to move on and was going to emigrate to Panama. Then, in 2007, John Darwin walked into a British police station with amnesia, having no idea what had happened to him over the past five years. It was an astonishing story — and all a con to collect on his life insurance policy.
The Darwins were caught in their elaborate lie when a recent photo they had taken together in Panama was discovered online. For years, John had secretly lived in their home, and even had a library card, but moving to Panama would afford him more freedom. However, new visa rules ended up making that plan impossible, so he returned to England and miraculously reappeared.
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Both John and Anne spent time in prison for their scheme. Their sons, who thought their father was dead for five years, disowned them — although they have since rebuilt a relationship with their mother. John and Anne divorced, and while she has stayed single, he remarried and lives in the Philippines. At least, he did until 2022, when his second wife told The Mirror he’d gone to Ukraine to fight the Russians.
