Canoeist's wife charged

by Martha Jones | December 10, 2007 at 04:55 pm

341 views | 0 Recommendations | 0 comments

A further twist in the saga of the "canoeist who came back from the dead": Police in the UK have now charged John Darwin's wife with two deception offences.

Anne Darwin, 55, is due in court in Hartlepool, Teesside, on Tuesday.

She is accused of dishonestly obtaining £25,000 in life insurance and a further sum of £137,000, both by money transfer in 2003, Cleveland Police said.

Mrs Darwin was arrested on Sunday after flying back to the UK from Panama, where she had moved after selling the family home.

Her husband went missing in March 2002 and was presumed drowned in a canoeing accident.

Since his "reappearance" earlier in December, he has been charged with two fraud offences, and remains in custody.

UPDATE: Anne Darwin has been remanded in custody:

Prosecutor Philip Morley opposed bail because he said if it were granted, Mrs Darwin may leave the country.

He added: "We say this because she does not have a fixed
address in the UK and she has strong links to Panama and she has money
in offshore bank accounts, if she was minded to leave the UK."