John Darwin disappearance case

The John Darwin disappearance case involved British former teacher and prison officer John Darwin who faked his death to collect life insurance. Darwin turned up alive in December 2007, five and a half years after he was believed to have died in a canoeing accident. Darwin was arrested and charged with fraud. His wife, Anne, was also arrested and charged for helping Darwin to collect his life insurance of £250,000 (equivalent to about £460,000 in 2025). The fraudulent claim had allowed the couple to pay off their £130,000 (equivalent to about £240,000 in 2025) mortgage. In December 2007, after it was revealed the couple had been photographed together in Panama a year earlier, Anne confessed to knowing Darwin was alive and revealed that he had been secretly living in their house and the house next door, which allowed him to receive the insurance money for his own use. On 23 July 2008, John and Anne Darwin were each sentenced to more than six years in prison.