1 00:00:15,410 --> 00:00:22,370 Speaker 1: Pushkin. Tim here with an exciting announcement about the Cautionary Club, 2 00:00:22,690 --> 00:00:26,850 Speaker 1: our Patreon community for Cautionary Tales listeners. So many of 3 00:00:26,850 --> 00:00:30,210 Speaker 1: you joined our live table read earlier this year that 4 00:00:30,330 --> 00:00:33,610 Speaker 1: we're doing it again. Join me and I production team 5 00:00:33,770 --> 00:00:37,690 Speaker 1: for a live reading of an unreleased episode about the 6 00:00:37,730 --> 00:00:43,410 Speaker 1: people who almost invented the iPhone fifteen years early and 7 00:00:43,450 --> 00:00:46,770 Speaker 1: the surprising reasons they failed. This will be a chance 8 00:00:46,850 --> 00:00:49,010 Speaker 1: for you to see how the stories we tell are 9 00:00:49,010 --> 00:00:53,490 Speaker 1: developed in real time and ask your burning questions about 10 00:00:53,490 --> 00:00:57,010 Speaker 1: cautionary Tales. It's on the eighth of July at five 11 00:00:57,050 --> 00:01:01,090 Speaker 1: pm UK or noon Eastern. If you join the Patreon 12 00:01:01,170 --> 00:01:03,770 Speaker 1: before then, or if you're already a member, you'll get 13 00:01:03,770 --> 00:01:10,170 Speaker 1: your exclusive invitation. Head to patreon dot com slash Cautionary Club. 14 00:01:10,450 --> 00:01:14,050 Speaker 1: That's Patreon p A t R e O N dot 15 00:01:14,090 --> 00:01:21,650 Speaker 1: com slash Cautionary Club. A clothes store on Oxford Street, 16 00:01:22,290 --> 00:01:26,610 Speaker 1: one of London's busiest shopping districts, in December, the busiest 17 00:01:26,610 --> 00:01:30,730 Speaker 1: time of the year. It's two thousand and seven. A 18 00:01:30,770 --> 00:01:35,130 Speaker 1: balding man in his late fifties approaches a store assistant. 19 00:01:36,010 --> 00:01:40,810 Speaker 2: Excuse me, I can't find my wife or the dogs 20 00:01:41,570 --> 00:01:42,690 Speaker 2: the rock vilers. 21 00:01:43,490 --> 00:01:47,410 Speaker 1: The man isn't making much sense. He claims to have 22 00:01:47,530 --> 00:01:50,410 Speaker 1: no idea where he is or how he got there. 23 00:01:51,770 --> 00:01:55,330 Speaker 2: Why are there Christmas lights? Isn't it June? 24 00:01:56,130 --> 00:02:01,530 Speaker 1: No, it's December. But the man is sun tanned. Clearly 25 00:02:01,650 --> 00:02:05,810 Speaker 1: he hasn't been in Britain or winter Equally clearly there's 26 00:02:05,810 --> 00:02:09,610 Speaker 1: something not quite right with him, and whatever the problem is, 27 00:02:10,130 --> 00:02:13,490 Speaker 1: the store don't want it to be their problem. A 28 00:02:13,530 --> 00:02:18,570 Speaker 1: security guard escorts him to the nearest police station. The 29 00:02:18,650 --> 00:02:21,130 Speaker 1: man tells the duty sergeant. 30 00:02:20,930 --> 00:02:23,170 Speaker 2: I think I'm a missing person. 31 00:02:24,450 --> 00:02:26,130 Speaker 1: Why do you think you're a missing person? 32 00:02:27,170 --> 00:02:29,890 Speaker 2: Well? If I knew that, I don't think i'd be 33 00:02:29,930 --> 00:02:30,970 Speaker 2: here now would I. 34 00:02:32,090 --> 00:02:35,570 Speaker 1: The man has no idea on him, but he says 35 00:02:35,650 --> 00:02:44,010 Speaker 1: he thinks his name might be John John Darwin. Five 36 00:02:44,290 --> 00:02:48,290 Speaker 1: years earlier, in two thousand and two, a middle aged 37 00:02:48,370 --> 00:02:53,690 Speaker 1: man called John Darwin indeed went missing in a canoe. 38 00:02:54,410 --> 00:02:57,210 Speaker 1: He had paddled out to sea one morning from the 39 00:02:57,210 --> 00:03:00,090 Speaker 1: beach in the town and the northeast of England where 40 00:03:00,130 --> 00:03:06,010 Speaker 1: he lived with his wife Anne, and said Anne, he 41 00:03:06,090 --> 00:03:10,930 Speaker 1: never came back. The battered canoe later washed up on 42 00:03:10,970 --> 00:03:17,210 Speaker 1: a beach, but no body was ever found at the time, 43 00:03:17,730 --> 00:03:21,970 Speaker 1: it raised some eyebrows. The weather had been calm, the 44 00:03:22,090 --> 00:03:25,690 Speaker 1: sea as smooth as a mill pond, not the kind 45 00:03:25,690 --> 00:03:28,410 Speaker 1: of conditions in which should expect a canoeist to get 46 00:03:28,410 --> 00:03:34,050 Speaker 1: into difficulties. Also, John Darwin, it turned out, was a 47 00:03:34,090 --> 00:03:38,930 Speaker 1: man with many debts. But once the requisite time had passed, 48 00:03:39,290 --> 00:03:42,570 Speaker 1: an inquest judged that the missing man must be presumed 49 00:03:42,690 --> 00:03:48,570 Speaker 1: dead and claimed on John's life insurance and moved abroad 50 00:03:48,610 --> 00:03:53,450 Speaker 1: to start a new life in Panama, a country with 51 00:03:53,530 --> 00:03:58,570 Speaker 1: a reputation for sunshine and not asking too many questions 52 00:03:58,610 --> 00:04:02,970 Speaker 1: about where your money comes from. And now he is 53 00:04:03,010 --> 00:04:06,890 Speaker 1: a sun tanned John Darwin in a London police station, 54 00:04:07,610 --> 00:04:11,290 Speaker 1: saying he's got amneasier. He can't remember anything of the 55 00:04:11,370 --> 00:04:16,610 Speaker 1: last five years, nothing at all. It's nonsense, isn't it. 56 00:04:16,610 --> 00:04:21,810 Speaker 1: It must be nonsense, But how to prove it? The 57 00:04:21,850 --> 00:04:25,930 Speaker 1: police have no grounds to detain John Darwin, so they 58 00:04:26,010 --> 00:04:31,770 Speaker 1: call his adult sons, who are stunned. For five years 59 00:04:31,850 --> 00:04:37,250 Speaker 1: they've assumed their dad was dead, and now he's back. 60 00:04:38,050 --> 00:04:43,130 Speaker 1: Britain's newspapers leap on the story, and what a deliciously 61 00:04:43,410 --> 00:04:48,330 Speaker 1: intriguing story it is. Where was I for five years? 62 00:04:48,610 --> 00:04:54,770 Speaker 1: Amazing mystery of missing canoeists. What's his game? He must 63 00:04:54,810 --> 00:05:00,250 Speaker 1: be lying, but how to prove it? The year, remember 64 00:05:00,570 --> 00:05:04,970 Speaker 1: is two thousand and seven. The Internet is less pervasive 65 00:05:05,050 --> 00:05:09,730 Speaker 1: than today. A young mum, reading the news and feeling curious, 66 00:05:10,650 --> 00:05:15,290 Speaker 1: does something very simple, but something that hadn't occurred to 67 00:05:15,330 --> 00:05:20,690 Speaker 1: the police or to journalists. She visits Google. She clicks 68 00:05:20,770 --> 00:05:28,850 Speaker 1: the images tab. She types three words John and Panama. 69 00:05:30,770 --> 00:05:36,810 Speaker 1: She presses search. I'm Tim Harford and you're listening to 70 00:05:37,050 --> 00:06:05,330 Speaker 1: cautionary tales. John Darwin worked as a teacher, then retrained 71 00:06:05,330 --> 00:06:09,770 Speaker 1: as a prison officer, and looked after their two until 72 00:06:09,770 --> 00:06:12,490 Speaker 1: they went to school. Then got a job as a 73 00:06:12,530 --> 00:06:17,330 Speaker 1: receptionist at a doctor's surgery. Ordinary jobs that bought an 74 00:06:17,530 --> 00:06:22,570 Speaker 1: ordinary house in an ordinary village. It wasn't enough for John. 75 00:06:23,410 --> 00:06:26,690 Speaker 2: I'll be a millionaire by the time I'm fifty. 76 00:06:27,610 --> 00:06:31,290 Speaker 1: John borrowed money to buy run down houses to rent out, 77 00:06:32,130 --> 00:06:36,330 Speaker 1: but tenants were hard to find that alone tenants who 78 00:06:36,410 --> 00:06:41,530 Speaker 1: paid rent on time. The houses needed constant repairs, which 79 00:06:41,690 --> 00:06:45,650 Speaker 1: John lacked the skills to make. The couples struggled to 80 00:06:45,690 --> 00:06:49,850 Speaker 1: make their loan repayments on the houses or on John's 81 00:06:49,930 --> 00:06:54,450 Speaker 1: luxury range Rover with the personalized license plate, they ran 82 00:06:54,570 --> 00:06:59,050 Speaker 1: up debt on credit cards. John decided the solution to 83 00:06:59,090 --> 00:07:03,090 Speaker 1: their problems was to borrow more money to buy more houses. 84 00:07:04,170 --> 00:07:08,650 Speaker 1: Two houses, specifically next door to each other, four story 85 00:07:08,810 --> 00:07:14,090 Speaker 1: nineteenth century townhouses overlooking the beach in the faded seaside 86 00:07:14,130 --> 00:07:20,770 Speaker 1: resort of Seedon Carew. The architecture was grand pointed gables 87 00:07:20,810 --> 00:07:24,810 Speaker 1: and ornate balustrades, but one of the houses had been 88 00:07:24,850 --> 00:07:32,170 Speaker 1: converted into thirteen bedsets, tiny dingy studio apartments for renting 89 00:07:32,170 --> 00:07:36,570 Speaker 1: out to low income tenants. John and Anne would live 90 00:07:36,610 --> 00:07:41,170 Speaker 1: in the other house. Oddly, it had a secret passageway 91 00:07:41,250 --> 00:07:44,250 Speaker 1: into one of the bed sits next door, a hole 92 00:07:44,330 --> 00:07:48,130 Speaker 1: in the wall hidden in a wardrobe like the entrance 93 00:07:48,250 --> 00:07:54,690 Speaker 1: to Narnia. John had worked out all the sums on 94 00:07:54,730 --> 00:07:58,250 Speaker 1: a spreadsheet. The rent from the bedsits would surely cover 95 00:07:58,410 --> 00:08:04,170 Speaker 1: all their debts. Anne was not convinced. John told her. 96 00:08:04,530 --> 00:08:07,290 Speaker 2: Stop worrying, it'll be fine. 97 00:08:07,930 --> 00:08:11,530 Speaker 1: It was not fine. The house was far bigger than 98 00:08:11,530 --> 00:08:14,490 Speaker 1: they needed. Their two sons had now grown up and 99 00:08:14,730 --> 00:08:20,090 Speaker 1: moved south near London. Heating was expensive, the house had 100 00:08:20,250 --> 00:08:26,730 Speaker 1: high ceilings, no insulation, and drafty single glazed windows. They 101 00:08:26,730 --> 00:08:29,210 Speaker 1: couldn't find tenants for all of the bed sits and 102 00:08:29,290 --> 00:08:32,450 Speaker 1: didn't get on with the tenants they did have, mostly 103 00:08:32,810 --> 00:08:38,170 Speaker 1: unemployed single men. They were glad they owned two rockvilers. 104 00:08:38,850 --> 00:08:42,930 Speaker 1: By the time John Darwin turned fifty, not only was 105 00:08:42,970 --> 00:08:47,690 Speaker 1: he not a millionaire, his financial situation had become desperate. 106 00:08:48,490 --> 00:08:53,650 Speaker 1: Penalty charges for late repayments were piling up. The Darwins 107 00:08:53,730 --> 00:08:59,570 Speaker 1: faced bankruptcy. John dreaded the stigma of being declared a failure. 108 00:09:00,730 --> 00:09:04,810 Speaker 1: But they'd run out of other options, or had they. 109 00:09:09,130 --> 00:09:11,410 Speaker 2: I think I should crush the ranger over on the 110 00:09:11,450 --> 00:09:15,610 Speaker 2: way home from work. We could claim the insurance money. 111 00:09:16,570 --> 00:09:17,930 Speaker 1: John thought some more. 112 00:09:18,970 --> 00:09:22,850 Speaker 2: But I might actually kill myself doing it. I don't 113 00:09:22,890 --> 00:09:23,450 Speaker 2: want to do that. 114 00:09:24,570 --> 00:09:29,370 Speaker 1: What if he faked his own death instead? 115 00:09:29,850 --> 00:09:33,210 Speaker 2: You could claim the life insurance money? 116 00:09:34,850 --> 00:09:38,250 Speaker 1: And was not immediately sold on this plan. She later 117 00:09:38,290 --> 00:09:40,530 Speaker 1: told the journalist David Lee. 118 00:09:40,570 --> 00:09:44,290 Speaker 3: For God's sake, John, you'll be phoned out and locked up. 119 00:09:44,850 --> 00:09:45,730 Speaker 3: We both will. 120 00:09:46,530 --> 00:09:51,650 Speaker 1: Nonetheless, she agreed to go along with it. One morning 121 00:09:51,770 --> 00:09:56,210 Speaker 1: in two thousand and two, John lugs his bright red 122 00:09:56,250 --> 00:09:58,970 Speaker 1: canoe over the road from his house to the beach. 123 00:09:59,770 --> 00:10:02,450 Speaker 1: He makes sure there are people around to see him. 124 00:10:02,730 --> 00:10:06,570 Speaker 1: He paddles out to sea, then down the coast to 125 00:10:06,650 --> 00:10:12,410 Speaker 1: another deserted beach, and meets him with her car. He 126 00:10:12,530 --> 00:10:15,490 Speaker 1: fills the canoe with rocks and shoves it into the 127 00:10:15,530 --> 00:10:20,250 Speaker 1: water and drives him to a railway station, where he 128 00:10:20,330 --> 00:10:27,250 Speaker 1: takes a train into the countryside. John planned to lie 129 00:10:27,330 --> 00:10:30,570 Speaker 1: low for a while by camping, but for some reason, 130 00:10:30,930 --> 00:10:34,370 Speaker 1: he'd taken his sleeping bag with him in the canoe 131 00:10:34,690 --> 00:10:39,170 Speaker 1: instead of leaving it in Anne's car. It's now sopping wet. 132 00:10:39,890 --> 00:10:42,610 Speaker 1: He checks into a bed and breakfast under a false 133 00:10:42,690 --> 00:10:46,730 Speaker 1: name and goes home and calls the emergency services. 134 00:10:47,610 --> 00:10:52,090 Speaker 3: This isn't like John at all. He's a very experienced canoeist, 135 00:10:52,170 --> 00:10:55,610 Speaker 3: but I'm starting to worry something dreadful might have happened. 136 00:10:57,410 --> 00:11:02,210 Speaker 1: The Coast Guard Agency leaps into action. Dozens of volunteers 137 00:11:02,210 --> 00:11:06,290 Speaker 1: from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, a charity, drop what 138 00:11:06,370 --> 00:11:08,970 Speaker 1: they're doing and take to the sea to search for 139 00:11:08,970 --> 00:11:12,290 Speaker 1: the missing canoeist. The search goes on all through the 140 00:11:12,370 --> 00:11:17,730 Speaker 1: night and the next day six boats, a plane, a helicopter. 141 00:11:19,650 --> 00:11:25,370 Speaker 1: An watches from the window of her home. John watches 142 00:11:25,490 --> 00:11:28,810 Speaker 1: on the television news in his bed and breakfast. The 143 00:11:28,850 --> 00:11:33,730 Speaker 1: missing man has been named locally as John Darwin. Ann 144 00:11:33,970 --> 00:11:37,130 Speaker 1: calls her two sons to break the news that their 145 00:11:37,170 --> 00:11:40,930 Speaker 1: father is missing at sea. One son is on holiday 146 00:11:40,970 --> 00:11:43,970 Speaker 1: in Canada, where he had been planning to propose to 147 00:11:44,010 --> 00:11:48,050 Speaker 1: his girlfriend. They cut short their trip and rush to 148 00:11:48,130 --> 00:11:54,890 Speaker 1: Seeden carew where they find Anne surrounded by people family, friends, work, 149 00:11:55,050 --> 00:12:00,450 Speaker 1: colleagues offering support, and the police, who seem to suspect 150 00:12:00,530 --> 00:12:05,490 Speaker 1: that all may not be as it seems. They're methodically 151 00:12:05,610 --> 00:12:10,010 Speaker 1: searching the house and asking annees after. 152 00:12:09,890 --> 00:12:12,770 Speaker 3: Question, I've told you everything I know. 153 00:12:15,530 --> 00:12:19,770 Speaker 1: After a week, Anne's phone rings. 154 00:12:19,010 --> 00:12:21,930 Speaker 2: What's happening? Has everyone gone home yet? 155 00:12:22,570 --> 00:12:26,410 Speaker 3: Are you mad? Of course they haven't gone home yet. 156 00:12:27,410 --> 00:12:31,290 Speaker 1: John has bought a new sleeping bag. Camping is cheaper 157 00:12:31,330 --> 00:12:35,170 Speaker 1: than the bed and breakfast, but every night his air 158 00:12:35,250 --> 00:12:40,890 Speaker 1: mattress slowly deflects and he wakes uncomfortably on the ground. 159 00:12:41,850 --> 00:12:43,770 Speaker 1: He doesn't have the cash to buy a new one, 160 00:12:44,290 --> 00:12:48,010 Speaker 1: and he obviously can't use a card. He pesters Anne. 161 00:12:48,770 --> 00:12:52,690 Speaker 1: Have their sons still not left. I've got to come back. 162 00:12:53,370 --> 00:12:54,810 Speaker 1: You don't know what it's like for me. 163 00:12:55,810 --> 00:12:57,970 Speaker 3: It's not exactly easy for me either. 164 00:13:00,690 --> 00:13:05,890 Speaker 1: After three weeks, the sons go home the coast is clear, 165 00:13:06,450 --> 00:13:13,850 Speaker 1: and John Darwin returns to Seaton carew cunningly disguised. He's 166 00:13:13,890 --> 00:13:17,890 Speaker 1: grown a beard. He makes use of that odd secret 167 00:13:17,970 --> 00:13:22,930 Speaker 1: passageway when visitors call on Anne, John darts through the 168 00:13:22,970 --> 00:13:29,210 Speaker 1: wardrobe and hides out in the bedsit But soon he 169 00:13:29,370 --> 00:13:32,690 Speaker 1: starts to take a chance on going out and about. 170 00:13:33,730 --> 00:13:37,530 Speaker 1: The police have seized his computer, so he visits the 171 00:13:37,570 --> 00:13:41,690 Speaker 1: library to get online. He starts doing repairs on his 172 00:13:41,770 --> 00:13:47,250 Speaker 1: rental properties, introducing himself as Tom the Handyman, though his 173 00:13:47,370 --> 00:13:51,290 Speaker 1: skills are as limited as ever. One tenant later recalls 174 00:13:51,330 --> 00:13:55,370 Speaker 1: how Tom tried to fix her toilet by tying a 175 00:13:55,450 --> 00:14:03,570 Speaker 1: plastic bag to the ballcock. Incredibly, he's recognized only once 176 00:14:04,410 --> 00:14:08,370 Speaker 1: a tenant sees through the beard and says, aren't you 177 00:14:08,410 --> 00:14:12,610 Speaker 1: supposed to be dead? John isn't quick at thinking on 178 00:14:12,650 --> 00:14:13,130 Speaker 1: his feet. 179 00:14:13,610 --> 00:14:15,290 Speaker 2: Don't tell anyone about this. 180 00:14:17,610 --> 00:14:21,250 Speaker 1: And he doesn't. The man later shrugs that he thought 181 00:14:21,250 --> 00:14:26,530 Speaker 1: it was none of his business. John looks through newspaper 182 00:14:26,690 --> 00:14:31,050 Speaker 1: archives from the year he was born. The death notices 183 00:14:32,450 --> 00:14:38,810 Speaker 1: a baby called John Jones died in infancy. If he'd lived, 184 00:14:39,210 --> 00:14:44,650 Speaker 1: it'd have been about Darwin's age. Another John. That's convenient 185 00:14:45,450 --> 00:14:49,650 Speaker 1: and Jones is a common surname. Darwin goes to the 186 00:14:49,690 --> 00:14:53,290 Speaker 1: local registry office and applies for a copy of John 187 00:14:53,450 --> 00:14:57,250 Speaker 1: Jones's birth certificate. He sends it off to the passport 188 00:14:57,250 --> 00:15:02,250 Speaker 1: office with a photograph of himself. It can't be this 189 00:15:02,610 --> 00:15:06,290 Speaker 1: easy to get a passport in a fake name, can it? 190 00:15:08,010 --> 00:15:21,210 Speaker 1: Cautionary tale will be back after the break. John Darwin 191 00:15:21,650 --> 00:15:26,090 Speaker 1: was hardly a criminal mastermind, So how did he know 192 00:15:26,370 --> 00:15:30,250 Speaker 1: how to get a passport with a fake identity? He 193 00:15:30,330 --> 00:15:34,170 Speaker 1: learned it from a book. A novel, The Day of 194 00:15:34,250 --> 00:15:39,050 Speaker 1: the Jackal, was published in the nineteen seventies. The central character, 195 00:15:39,570 --> 00:15:43,290 Speaker 1: a shadowy assassin, applies for a copy of a dead 196 00:15:43,450 --> 00:15:47,130 Speaker 1: baby's birth certificate and uses it to get a passport. 197 00:15:48,130 --> 00:15:51,370 Speaker 1: The novelist learned of this trick from contacts in the 198 00:15:51,410 --> 00:15:56,850 Speaker 1: criminal underworld. Could it really be that easy? He tried 199 00:15:56,890 --> 00:16:00,650 Speaker 1: it out for himself before writing about it. It worked. 200 00:16:02,730 --> 00:16:06,170 Speaker 1: When The Day of the Jackal became a best seller, 201 00:16:06,530 --> 00:16:09,610 Speaker 1: the author assumed that the government would quick he find 202 00:16:09,650 --> 00:16:14,490 Speaker 1: a way to close the loophole, but no. Thirty years later, 203 00:16:15,090 --> 00:16:21,210 Speaker 1: the trick still worked. The government's problem was making links 204 00:16:21,250 --> 00:16:25,130 Speaker 1: between data held in different places. There was a paper 205 00:16:25,130 --> 00:16:29,730 Speaker 1: based register of births and a paper based register of deaths. 206 00:16:30,650 --> 00:16:34,770 Speaker 1: But these records weren't connected. Give the passport office a 207 00:16:34,770 --> 00:16:38,450 Speaker 1: birth certificate for a John Jones, and they had no 208 00:16:38,650 --> 00:16:42,250 Speaker 1: easy way to verify whether or not he died already. 209 00:16:43,410 --> 00:16:46,410 Speaker 1: The world is very different now, of course, records are 210 00:16:46,410 --> 00:16:51,130 Speaker 1: computerized and searchable. Information from one source can easily link 211 00:16:51,170 --> 00:16:56,450 Speaker 1: to another. Back in the early two thousands, that shift 212 00:16:56,530 --> 00:17:01,410 Speaker 1: to the modern era was taking shape, but slowly and piecemeal. 213 00:17:02,290 --> 00:17:05,610 Speaker 1: The day of the Jackal trick wouldn't work for much longer. 214 00:17:07,250 --> 00:17:15,610 Speaker 1: John Jones got his pass just in time. In two 215 00:17:15,690 --> 00:17:20,810 Speaker 1: thousand and three, on the first anniversary of John Darwin's disappearance, 216 00:17:21,330 --> 00:17:25,130 Speaker 1: his two sons visited their mother for a somber act 217 00:17:25,170 --> 00:17:29,650 Speaker 1: of remembrance from the end of seatan Karoop. Here they 218 00:17:29,730 --> 00:17:38,850 Speaker 1: threw commemorative wreaths into the sea. John watched from the window. 219 00:17:40,650 --> 00:17:44,650 Speaker 1: When the coroner held an inquest into John's disappearance, the 220 00:17:44,770 --> 00:17:49,730 Speaker 1: sons visited again, much to John's annoyance. Whenever they came 221 00:17:49,770 --> 00:17:55,290 Speaker 1: to support their mother, he had to vanish through the wardrobe. 222 00:17:55,370 --> 00:17:59,690 Speaker 1: The inquest heard the police had found no evidence that 223 00:17:59,810 --> 00:18:05,450 Speaker 1: Darwin staged his disappearance. A death certificate was issued, which 224 00:18:05,490 --> 00:18:09,370 Speaker 1: gave the cause of death as probably in on to 225 00:18:09,570 --> 00:18:14,410 Speaker 1: difficulties as a result of which he died. The sons 226 00:18:14,610 --> 00:18:20,090 Speaker 1: went home, finally allowing John to emerge through the secret 227 00:18:20,170 --> 00:18:28,090 Speaker 1: doorway Congratulations, You're dead, armed with the death certificate, and 228 00:18:28,370 --> 00:18:33,090 Speaker 1: set about claiming John's various life insurance policies and pensions. 229 00:18:34,050 --> 00:18:36,650 Speaker 1: John celebrated by playing Abba. 230 00:18:36,650 --> 00:18:41,290 Speaker 2: Morning, Morning Money. It's a money in. 231 00:18:44,530 --> 00:18:47,490 Speaker 1: The payouts came to maybe three quarters of a million 232 00:18:47,570 --> 00:18:51,250 Speaker 1: dollars in today's terms. Later, their'd net about the same 233 00:18:51,290 --> 00:18:56,090 Speaker 1: again from selling properties that would otherwise have been foreclosed. 234 00:18:55,410 --> 00:18:57,690 Speaker 2: On I'm a genius. 235 00:18:58,370 --> 00:19:02,490 Speaker 1: The police had given back John's computer. He spent hours 236 00:19:02,530 --> 00:19:07,970 Speaker 1: playing online games such as Ascheron's Call, a fantasy role 237 00:19:08,010 --> 00:19:11,650 Speaker 1: playing adventure, which his two sons also enjoyed. 238 00:19:12,330 --> 00:19:16,210 Speaker 2: You'll never guess So I've been playing with today the boys. 239 00:19:17,370 --> 00:19:20,330 Speaker 2: But don't worry, they have no idea. It's me. 240 00:19:22,770 --> 00:19:26,810 Speaker 1: In another online game. John befriended a woman who told 241 00:19:26,890 --> 00:19:31,290 Speaker 1: him she was lonely and bored. He told her his 242 00:19:31,370 --> 00:19:35,610 Speaker 1: wife was dead and he had no children. She sent 243 00:19:35,730 --> 00:19:41,570 Speaker 1: him topless photos. He sent her fifty thousand dollars to 244 00:19:41,690 --> 00:19:46,810 Speaker 1: invest in a business. Opportunity, he sheepishly confessed to Anne. 245 00:19:47,090 --> 00:19:53,130 Speaker 1: When he realized that the investment was gone, Anne brushed 246 00:19:53,170 --> 00:19:57,410 Speaker 1: it off. There was plenty more money, after all. They 247 00:19:57,570 --> 00:20:02,290 Speaker 1: traveled to Cyprus with the John Jones passport. Perhaps that 248 00:20:02,370 --> 00:20:04,810 Speaker 1: would be a good place to start a new life 249 00:20:04,810 --> 00:20:10,330 Speaker 1: in the sun, but the bureaucracy seemed stifling. They agreed 250 00:20:10,330 --> 00:20:14,810 Speaker 1: to buy a catamaran, thinking they could sail around the world, 251 00:20:15,250 --> 00:20:18,490 Speaker 1: not that either of them knew how to sail. That 252 00:20:18,690 --> 00:20:22,970 Speaker 1: fell through when John argued with the cellar. One thing 253 00:20:23,210 --> 00:20:26,810 Speaker 1: was clear. They couldn't stay in seat and carew and 254 00:20:26,970 --> 00:20:34,850 Speaker 1: risk someone else. Recognizing bearded Tom the handyman, what about Panama, 255 00:20:36,570 --> 00:20:40,970 Speaker 1: John began to post in forums for expats. He liked 256 00:20:40,970 --> 00:20:42,170 Speaker 1: what he was told. 257 00:20:42,530 --> 00:20:46,770 Speaker 2: It's going to be perfect for us. A wonderful climate, 258 00:20:47,130 --> 00:20:52,010 Speaker 2: beautiful countryside, absolutely perfect in every respect. 259 00:20:52,930 --> 00:20:55,730 Speaker 1: John arranged for them to meet a real estate agent 260 00:20:56,210 --> 00:21:01,730 Speaker 1: and booked flights, and still worried every time John presented 261 00:21:01,770 --> 00:21:02,570 Speaker 1: his passport. 262 00:21:04,090 --> 00:21:06,970 Speaker 2: Stay calm, everything will be. 263 00:21:07,050 --> 00:21:10,450 Speaker 3: Fine, I'm true buying my best. 264 00:21:12,170 --> 00:21:16,050 Speaker 1: Panama was beautiful. Indeed, they got on well with the 265 00:21:16,050 --> 00:21:19,690 Speaker 1: real estate agent and his wife. At one point, the 266 00:21:19,730 --> 00:21:24,010 Speaker 1: wife produced a digital camera, a photo of the happy clients. 267 00:21:24,970 --> 00:21:28,810 Speaker 1: John and Anne stood next to the agent and beamed. 268 00:21:30,050 --> 00:21:32,570 Speaker 1: The agent's wife gave the photo a file name that 269 00:21:32,690 --> 00:21:39,090 Speaker 1: included John and Anne and uploaded it to the agency website. 270 00:21:42,050 --> 00:21:47,050 Speaker 1: The Darwins bought an apartment in Panama City and returned 271 00:21:47,050 --> 00:21:50,170 Speaker 1: to Seeden carew to sell the last of their property, 272 00:21:50,770 --> 00:21:54,730 Speaker 1: their two big old houses. They bought a plot of 273 00:21:54,810 --> 00:22:00,330 Speaker 1: land in Panama, nearly five hundred acres of unspoiled jungle 274 00:22:00,890 --> 00:22:05,770 Speaker 1: next to Lake Gartoon, a huge artificial reservoir created as 275 00:22:05,850 --> 00:22:10,330 Speaker 1: part of the Panama Canal. The plot had no electricity 276 00:22:10,450 --> 00:22:14,010 Speaker 1: or running water, but they planned to build a luxury 277 00:22:14,130 --> 00:22:19,890 Speaker 1: villa and open an eco tourism resort. They didn't speak Spanish. 278 00:22:20,570 --> 00:22:24,130 Speaker 1: They'd ruined themselves trying to run a much simpler property 279 00:22:24,170 --> 00:22:27,730 Speaker 1: rental business back home. John couldn't even fix a toilet, 280 00:22:28,570 --> 00:22:32,450 Speaker 1: but sure, build a villa and run an eco tourism resort. 281 00:22:32,770 --> 00:22:37,410 Speaker 1: Why not? As Anne later reflected. 282 00:22:37,450 --> 00:22:41,530 Speaker 3: The idea was, I have to admit in seeing. 283 00:22:43,730 --> 00:22:47,170 Speaker 1: They bought a machete. But before they could get to 284 00:22:47,290 --> 00:22:50,290 Speaker 1: work on their jungle, they had a problem to solve. 285 00:22:51,410 --> 00:22:55,690 Speaker 1: They'd come to Panama on tourist visas to live their 286 00:22:55,730 --> 00:22:59,090 Speaker 1: long term. They'd need a different kind of visa, and 287 00:22:59,170 --> 00:23:01,610 Speaker 1: to get it they had to present a letter from 288 00:23:01,610 --> 00:23:06,490 Speaker 1: their local police force back home attesting to their good character. 289 00:23:07,770 --> 00:23:11,690 Speaker 1: Easy for Anne, who led an apparently blameless life as 290 00:23:11,730 --> 00:23:18,410 Speaker 1: a doctor's receptionist. Tricky for John Jones, who didn't exist 291 00:23:20,330 --> 00:23:23,930 Speaker 1: what to do. It might have been wise to grapple 292 00:23:24,010 --> 00:23:27,130 Speaker 1: with this problem before They bought an apartment in Panama 293 00:23:27,170 --> 00:23:30,170 Speaker 1: City and five hundred acres of jungle. But they were 294 00:23:30,450 --> 00:23:34,970 Speaker 1: where they were. John came up with a plan. He'd 295 00:23:35,010 --> 00:23:41,130 Speaker 1: fly back to Britain, abandoned the John Jones identity, reestablish 296 00:23:41,250 --> 00:23:46,370 Speaker 1: himself as John Darwin, and claim he had amnesia. If 297 00:23:46,410 --> 00:23:48,250 Speaker 1: no one could prove where he had been for the 298 00:23:48,290 --> 00:23:51,090 Speaker 1: last five years, there'd be no reason for the police 299 00:23:51,130 --> 00:23:52,770 Speaker 1: not to give him the letter he needed. 300 00:23:55,130 --> 00:23:57,890 Speaker 2: It's perfectly feasible that I could have banged my head 301 00:23:57,890 --> 00:24:02,130 Speaker 2: and lost my memory. It does happen. Sometimes, I'd say, 302 00:24:02,370 --> 00:24:04,850 Speaker 2: I can't remember how I got to wherever I am 303 00:24:05,010 --> 00:24:05,970 Speaker 2: or where I've been. 304 00:24:06,970 --> 00:24:08,970 Speaker 3: How do you account for the sun turn? 305 00:24:09,650 --> 00:24:10,970 Speaker 2: I could have been on holiday. 306 00:24:11,890 --> 00:24:15,010 Speaker 3: This is crazy. No one will believe you. 307 00:24:15,010 --> 00:24:18,650 Speaker 1: You think of something better then, and could not think 308 00:24:18,690 --> 00:24:24,850 Speaker 1: of anything better. John reassured her that thousands of people 309 00:24:24,930 --> 00:24:27,330 Speaker 1: go missing every year and then turn up again. 310 00:24:28,330 --> 00:24:33,170 Speaker 2: Nobody will be that bothered about me. Don't worry, It'll 311 00:24:33,210 --> 00:24:34,410 Speaker 2: be fine. 312 00:24:35,610 --> 00:24:39,450 Speaker 1: Three days after John flew back to London, the buzzer 313 00:24:39,530 --> 00:24:44,530 Speaker 1: rang at the apartment in Panama City and ignored it. 314 00:24:45,530 --> 00:24:49,490 Speaker 1: Then came a knocking on the door. She ignored that too. 315 00:24:50,170 --> 00:24:55,810 Speaker 1: A voice with an English accent said, miss I see you. 316 00:24:58,050 --> 00:24:58,770 Speaker 3: What do you want? 317 00:24:59,530 --> 00:25:03,610 Speaker 1: The man explained he was a journalist, David Lee. 318 00:25:03,930 --> 00:25:05,810 Speaker 2: What was her reaction. 319 00:25:05,610 --> 00:25:09,330 Speaker 1: To the news that her husband wasn't dead after all? 320 00:25:10,370 --> 00:25:12,850 Speaker 3: I'm finding it pretty hard to take in. 321 00:25:14,130 --> 00:25:18,290 Speaker 1: Anne agreed to give David Lee an interview. She had 322 00:25:18,370 --> 00:25:21,810 Speaker 1: no idea where John had been for the last five years. 323 00:25:22,730 --> 00:25:26,890 Speaker 3: I'm as amazed as anyone. There are so many unanswered questions. 324 00:25:27,970 --> 00:25:31,290 Speaker 1: David Lee wrote up his story and emailed it to 325 00:25:31,330 --> 00:25:34,730 Speaker 1: his editors with a covering note, She's obviously lying through 326 00:25:34,730 --> 00:25:41,130 Speaker 1: her teeth, but how to prove it. Later that evening, 327 00:25:41,530 --> 00:25:45,610 Speaker 1: David Lee and Anne are having dinner when Lee's phone rings. 328 00:25:46,650 --> 00:25:50,930 Speaker 1: It's an editor at his paper. It's nearly midnight in 329 00:25:50,970 --> 00:25:55,490 Speaker 1: the UK, but they're hurriedly rewriting the front page after 330 00:25:55,530 --> 00:25:59,170 Speaker 1: a tip off from a reader, a young woman up 331 00:25:59,250 --> 00:26:01,810 Speaker 1: late with her baby who says she's a bit of 332 00:26:01,810 --> 00:26:08,890 Speaker 1: a geek, go to Google, click on images, and type 333 00:26:08,930 --> 00:26:19,330 Speaker 1: in John and Panama. Lee is astonished by what pops up. 334 00:26:20,250 --> 00:26:22,930 Speaker 1: He says to Anne, I've got something to show you, 335 00:26:23,770 --> 00:26:25,970 Speaker 1: and I'm afraid it's not going to be very easy 336 00:26:26,050 --> 00:26:32,330 Speaker 1: for you. Cautionary tales will be back in a moment. 337 00:26:38,570 --> 00:26:41,810 Speaker 1: In the mid to late two thousands, with the rise 338 00:26:41,930 --> 00:26:47,330 Speaker 1: of social media technology, researchers such as Dana Boyd began 339 00:26:47,410 --> 00:26:52,050 Speaker 1: to observe an interesting new phenomenon. It became known as 340 00:26:52,530 --> 00:26:57,730 Speaker 1: context collapse. A classic example from the time your friend 341 00:26:57,970 --> 00:27:01,690 Speaker 1: posts on Facebook a photo of you drunk at a party. 342 00:27:02,650 --> 00:27:07,810 Speaker 1: Your employers on Facebook, so's your gran. Just a few 343 00:27:07,890 --> 00:27:10,970 Speaker 1: years earlier, you wouldn't have been able to imagine how 344 00:27:11,010 --> 00:27:14,890 Speaker 1: a photo taken at a drunken party might plausibly be 345 00:27:14,930 --> 00:27:19,010 Speaker 1: seen by your employer or your gran. It was easy 346 00:27:19,090 --> 00:27:24,090 Speaker 1: to keep a separation between these different contexts in your life. 347 00:27:24,170 --> 00:27:27,450 Speaker 1: There's now a body of research on how we've adapted 348 00:27:27,530 --> 00:27:33,530 Speaker 1: to context collapse. We self censor, posting only bland content 349 00:27:33,690 --> 00:27:38,010 Speaker 1: in feeds that are relatively public. We share sensitive content 350 00:27:38,170 --> 00:27:42,410 Speaker 1: in spaces such as group chats, which are easier to curate. 351 00:27:43,730 --> 00:27:48,930 Speaker 1: John and Anne Darwin couldn't imagine how a photo taken 352 00:27:48,970 --> 00:27:52,690 Speaker 1: in Panama might plausibly be seen by the police in 353 00:27:52,770 --> 00:27:57,330 Speaker 1: Northeast England. Today, it's hard to imagine how such a 354 00:27:57,330 --> 00:28:02,170 Speaker 1: photo could ever stay hidden. Two thousand and seven was 355 00:28:02,330 --> 00:28:06,930 Speaker 1: right on the cusp of that change in eras. The 356 00:28:07,050 --> 00:28:10,970 Speaker 1: image was findable on good but it hadn't occurred to 357 00:28:11,010 --> 00:28:15,250 Speaker 1: the police to search, or to the nation's top journalists. 358 00:28:16,090 --> 00:28:22,970 Speaker 1: It crossed the mind only of a geeky young mum 359 00:28:23,010 --> 00:28:27,330 Speaker 1: back in Panama. And Darwin looks at the image on 360 00:28:27,450 --> 00:28:33,770 Speaker 1: David Lee's laptop, herself and John beaming at the camera 361 00:28:34,330 --> 00:28:38,170 Speaker 1: in the office of their real estate agent in Panama City. 362 00:28:39,170 --> 00:28:43,330 Speaker 1: She's just been telling the journalist how she's as amazed 363 00:28:43,330 --> 00:28:46,490 Speaker 1: as anyone to learn that John Darwin is still alive. 364 00:28:47,730 --> 00:28:52,610 Speaker 1: She pauses to consider the implications of that photo. 365 00:28:53,290 --> 00:28:55,730 Speaker 3: My sons are never going to forgive me. 366 00:28:58,410 --> 00:29:03,090 Speaker 1: The police in Northeast England had always suspected that John 367 00:29:03,210 --> 00:29:07,730 Speaker 1: Darwin might have staged his disappearance, but they hadn't found 368 00:29:07,730 --> 00:29:12,610 Speaker 1: any evidence at the time. When Darwin reappears in London 369 00:29:13,170 --> 00:29:18,130 Speaker 1: and claims amnesia. They dust off the file. He must 370 00:29:18,130 --> 00:29:22,850 Speaker 1: be lying, but how to prove it. They appealed to 371 00:29:22,890 --> 00:29:27,170 Speaker 1: the public for any information about where the missing canoeist 372 00:29:27,210 --> 00:29:32,650 Speaker 1: had been. A woman calls in, a young mum. If 373 00:29:32,690 --> 00:29:39,250 Speaker 1: you go to Google images, The chief investigating officer looks 374 00:29:39,250 --> 00:29:45,210 Speaker 1: at the search results and bursts out laughing, stupid bastards. 375 00:29:47,850 --> 00:29:51,490 Speaker 1: It's late in the evening. That photo's bound to be 376 00:29:51,530 --> 00:29:55,450 Speaker 1: on the front page of tomorrow's papers. They'd better arrest 377 00:29:55,650 --> 00:30:01,730 Speaker 1: John Darwin before he can do another runner. John has 378 00:30:01,770 --> 00:30:05,410 Speaker 1: been staying at his son's house, feeling alarmed at the 379 00:30:05,490 --> 00:30:09,890 Speaker 1: level of media interest. He'd assured Anne that nobody would 380 00:30:09,890 --> 00:30:15,170 Speaker 1: be bothered. People go missing all the time. Instead, he's 381 00:30:15,210 --> 00:30:20,770 Speaker 1: gone viral The canoe Man. Journalists have tracked down his 382 00:30:21,130 --> 00:30:25,530 Speaker 1: ninety year old father, who helpfully explained how John was 383 00:30:25,730 --> 00:30:30,690 Speaker 1: always obsessed with money. An eighty year old aunt chimes in, 384 00:30:31,490 --> 00:30:33,890 Speaker 1: I'm a cynic. I don't believe he ever got his 385 00:30:33,890 --> 00:30:39,650 Speaker 1: feet wet. But at his son's house, John has been 386 00:30:39,810 --> 00:30:45,850 Speaker 1: determinedly keeping up the pretense of amnesia, or what he 387 00:30:45,930 --> 00:30:49,810 Speaker 1: guesses amnesia might look like. When his daughter in law 388 00:30:49,930 --> 00:30:53,130 Speaker 1: serves dinner, he pretends not to know what it is. 389 00:30:54,210 --> 00:30:58,090 Speaker 2: I've never had fish. 390 00:30:58,370 --> 00:31:01,690 Speaker 1: At ten to midnight, the police knock on the door 391 00:31:02,290 --> 00:31:10,010 Speaker 1: and arrest John Darwin for suspected fraud. The next morning, 392 00:31:10,090 --> 00:31:15,250 Speaker 1: a newspaper front page splashes the photo of John, Anne, 393 00:31:15,810 --> 00:31:20,370 Speaker 1: and the real estate agent under the headline canoes this 394 00:31:20,610 --> 00:31:27,250 Speaker 1: in Panama. The two Darwin's sons put out a statement 395 00:31:27,410 --> 00:31:32,210 Speaker 1: to the press. We are angry and confused. We will 396 00:31:32,210 --> 00:31:37,690 Speaker 1: be helping the police in any way we can. Back 397 00:31:37,730 --> 00:31:43,290 Speaker 1: in Panama, the journalist David Lee reads their statements to Anne. 398 00:31:44,170 --> 00:31:45,650 Speaker 1: She bursts into tears. 399 00:31:46,250 --> 00:31:47,690 Speaker 3: What have I done? 400 00:31:48,970 --> 00:31:53,730 Speaker 1: What sort of mother am I? David Lee thinks to himself, 401 00:31:54,730 --> 00:31:59,850 Speaker 1: not a very good one. As the details of the 402 00:31:59,890 --> 00:32:04,610 Speaker 1: case come out, the jokes keep coming. A photo of 403 00:32:04,650 --> 00:32:08,810 Speaker 1: the Narnia like secret passageway in John and Anne's old 404 00:32:08,850 --> 00:32:13,130 Speaker 1: house is published with the headline the Liar, the Witch 405 00:32:13,490 --> 00:32:18,090 Speaker 1: and the Wardrobe. When John's lawyer appeals for him to 406 00:32:18,090 --> 00:32:22,570 Speaker 1: be allowed some time with Anne, it's reported with how 407 00:32:22,650 --> 00:32:27,410 Speaker 1: about a canoodle? A local prankster puts up an official 408 00:32:27,450 --> 00:32:31,290 Speaker 1: looking sign on the road into Seton carew Welcome to 409 00:32:31,450 --> 00:32:38,010 Speaker 1: Seton Canoe, twinned with Panama, the nation's pedants tirelessly point 410 00:32:38,050 --> 00:32:42,250 Speaker 1: out that John's canoe was actually a kayak. There's a difference, 411 00:32:42,330 --> 00:32:46,010 Speaker 1: you know. It's a losing battle. There are so many 412 00:32:46,010 --> 00:32:50,090 Speaker 1: more jokes you can make with canoe. But when details 413 00:32:50,130 --> 00:32:54,330 Speaker 1: emerge of how John got his fake passport using a 414 00:32:54,370 --> 00:32:57,570 Speaker 1: trick from a famous novel, there's a chance for the 415 00:32:57,610 --> 00:33:06,610 Speaker 1: headline writers to please the pedants the day of the Kayako. 416 00:33:06,770 --> 00:33:12,050 Speaker 1: But amid the hilarity, there's human hurt. The two Darwin's 417 00:33:12,130 --> 00:33:17,690 Speaker 1: sons give a raw interview about their parents. They trampled 418 00:33:17,730 --> 00:33:21,130 Speaker 1: over our lives for the sake of money. They're as 419 00:33:21,170 --> 00:33:25,330 Speaker 1: bad as each other. Their father had listened through the 420 00:33:25,410 --> 00:33:31,290 Speaker 1: wall as they grieved for him, utterly cruel, selfish and evil. 421 00:33:32,650 --> 00:33:36,250 Speaker 1: Their mother had become such an accomplished liar she deserved 422 00:33:36,290 --> 00:33:40,970 Speaker 1: an oscar. She never tripped up. Then there were the 423 00:33:41,010 --> 00:33:46,090 Speaker 1: siblings of John Jones, the little baby whose identity John 424 00:33:46,210 --> 00:33:50,890 Speaker 1: Darwin had stolen. My parents always used to speak about John, 425 00:33:51,410 --> 00:33:57,050 Speaker 1: said a sister. The families disgusted. How low can you get? 426 00:34:00,370 --> 00:34:04,250 Speaker 1: Remember why it was possible for John Darwin to get 427 00:34:04,290 --> 00:34:09,250 Speaker 1: that fake passport? The Register of births didn't talk to 428 00:34:09,290 --> 00:34:12,930 Speaker 1: the Register of deaths, but that was about to change. 429 00:34:13,850 --> 00:34:20,010 Speaker 1: Information everywhere was getting digitized, searchable, easier to cross reference 430 00:34:20,090 --> 00:34:25,010 Speaker 1: from one place to another. In twenty ten, the philosopher 431 00:34:25,130 --> 00:34:30,970 Speaker 1: Helen Nissenbaum published a book, Privacy in Context, that explored 432 00:34:31,130 --> 00:34:36,250 Speaker 1: the implications of that trend. When we care about privacy, 433 00:34:36,530 --> 00:34:42,610 Speaker 1: she says, what we care about is contextual integrity, rules 434 00:34:42,610 --> 00:34:47,610 Speaker 1: and norms about how information flows from one context to another. 435 00:34:49,010 --> 00:34:52,250 Speaker 1: We might not want our medical information to come up 436 00:34:52,250 --> 00:34:56,050 Speaker 1: in an employment check, or our bank to know our 437 00:34:56,130 --> 00:35:01,650 Speaker 1: browser history, or marketers to see our location data. But 438 00:35:01,730 --> 00:35:05,930 Speaker 1: the smarter technology becomes, the more effort it takes to 439 00:35:06,010 --> 00:35:10,410 Speaker 1: stay in control of who can find out what the 440 00:35:10,530 --> 00:35:15,530 Speaker 1: idea is a cousin of context collapse. How social media 441 00:35:15,650 --> 00:35:20,410 Speaker 1: makes us work harder to separate our audiences. Once again, 442 00:35:20,810 --> 00:35:24,570 Speaker 1: that Darwins stand on the cusp of a change in eras. 443 00:35:25,810 --> 00:35:29,130 Speaker 1: Nowadays you couldn't get a fake identity with a dead 444 00:35:29,330 --> 00:35:33,370 Speaker 1: child's birth certificate. That's a good thing, but it's not 445 00:35:33,570 --> 00:35:37,370 Speaker 1: only life insurance frauds us who might want to leave 446 00:35:37,570 --> 00:35:42,610 Speaker 1: parts of their identity behind. It's people who said stupid 447 00:35:42,650 --> 00:35:45,970 Speaker 1: things when they were young, or sort of fresh start 448 00:35:46,090 --> 00:35:50,570 Speaker 1: in a new city after a messy breakup. The easier 449 00:35:50,610 --> 00:35:54,090 Speaker 1: it gets for others to join the dots about our lives, 450 00:35:54,850 --> 00:36:02,490 Speaker 1: the more challenging it is to reinvent ourselves. John Darwin 451 00:36:02,930 --> 00:36:06,890 Speaker 1: bowed to the inevitable. How did he plead to the 452 00:36:06,970 --> 00:36:08,650 Speaker 1: various charges of fraud? 453 00:36:10,010 --> 00:36:10,530 Speaker 2: Guilty? 454 00:36:11,650 --> 00:36:19,610 Speaker 1: Anne, however, surprised everyone not guilty. She wasn't denying that 455 00:36:19,730 --> 00:36:23,410 Speaker 1: she did it. She was saying that John made her 456 00:36:23,450 --> 00:36:23,810 Speaker 1: do it. 457 00:36:24,450 --> 00:36:28,490 Speaker 3: My thoughts never seemed to carry any weight. He had 458 00:36:28,730 --> 00:36:32,330 Speaker 3: a domineering effect on me, and I had no choice 459 00:36:32,810 --> 00:36:34,210 Speaker 3: but to do what he wanted. 460 00:36:35,570 --> 00:36:39,170 Speaker 1: Anne's lawyers dug up a little known legal defense called 461 00:36:39,730 --> 00:36:44,770 Speaker 1: marital coercion. It sank like a canoe full of stones. 462 00:36:46,810 --> 00:36:50,970 Speaker 1: The prosecution argued that Anne had played an equal and 463 00:36:51,250 --> 00:36:54,490 Speaker 1: vital role in the fraud, and she'd played it with 464 00:36:54,690 --> 00:37:02,330 Speaker 1: superb aplom The jury evidently agreed, finding Anne guilty as charged. 465 00:37:03,250 --> 00:37:07,010 Speaker 1: The judge declared that her involvement had been not only efficient, 466 00:37:07,490 --> 00:37:13,450 Speaker 1: but wholehearted. Anne and John served just over three years 467 00:37:13,490 --> 00:37:18,610 Speaker 1: in prison. Soon after being parolled, John flew to Ukraine 468 00:37:18,650 --> 00:37:21,850 Speaker 1: to meet a woman from an online dating site. He 469 00:37:21,890 --> 00:37:24,850 Speaker 1: didn't yet have permission to leave the country, so he 470 00:37:24,890 --> 00:37:27,730 Speaker 1: went back to jail again. He now lives in the 471 00:37:27,730 --> 00:37:34,370 Speaker 1: Philippines with a new, much younger wife, and tried to 472 00:37:34,410 --> 00:37:38,810 Speaker 1: reinvent herself. She dyed her hair and reverted to her 473 00:37:38,890 --> 00:37:43,130 Speaker 1: maiden name. She wrote a book with the journalist David 474 00:37:43,210 --> 00:37:48,290 Speaker 1: Lee and donated the proceeds to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, 475 00:37:49,570 --> 00:37:51,290 Speaker 1: A small way to make amends. 476 00:37:52,010 --> 00:37:55,810 Speaker 3: Although I'm sure many people will wonder whether I really 477 00:37:55,890 --> 00:37:57,330 Speaker 3: deserve a second chance. 478 00:37:58,570 --> 00:38:03,770 Speaker 1: Her sons eventually decided that she did. She sees them 479 00:38:03,810 --> 00:38:08,970 Speaker 1: again and her grandchildren on a solo coach trip. She 480 00:38:09,170 --> 00:38:13,650 Speaker 1: struck up a friendship with some other holidaymakers, though one 481 00:38:13,850 --> 00:38:17,610 Speaker 1: kept looking at her, trying to figure out where he 482 00:38:17,690 --> 00:38:22,690 Speaker 1: knew her from. Perhaps he quietly did an image search. 483 00:38:24,490 --> 00:38:28,090 Speaker 3: I was fairly sure he twigged who I was, and 484 00:38:28,170 --> 00:38:30,970 Speaker 3: I was grateful he was kind enough not to mention it. 485 00:38:32,370 --> 00:38:35,890 Speaker 1: There are times when we don't want life to be 486 00:38:35,970 --> 00:38:49,850 Speaker 1: an open book. Key sources for this episode include two 487 00:38:49,890 --> 00:38:54,490 Speaker 1: books co written by David Lee, one with Tony Hutchinson, 488 00:38:54,770 --> 00:38:57,930 Speaker 1: The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe, and one with 489 00:38:58,210 --> 00:39:02,250 Speaker 1: Anne Darwin Out of My Depth. For a full list 490 00:39:02,250 --> 00:39:05,890 Speaker 1: of our sources, see the show notes at Timharford dot 491 00:39:05,930 --> 00:39:10,010 Speaker 1: com Cautionary Tales is written by me Tim Harford with 492 00:39:10,130 --> 00:39:14,690 Speaker 1: Andrew Wright, Alice Fines and Ryan Dilly. It's produced by 493 00:39:14,730 --> 00:39:19,130 Speaker 1: Georgia Mills and Marilyn Rust. The sound design and original 494 00:39:19,210 --> 00:39:23,610 Speaker 1: music are the work of Pascal Wise Bender. Daf Haffrey 495 00:39:23,930 --> 00:39:28,250 Speaker 1: edited the scripts. Cautionary Tales features the voice talents of 496 00:39:28,330 --> 00:39:34,330 Speaker 1: Genevieve Gaunt, Melanie Guttridge, Ed Gohan Stella Harford, Jamal Westman, 497 00:39:34,890 --> 00:39:38,810 Speaker 1: and Rufus Wright. The show also wouldn't have been possible 498 00:39:38,850 --> 00:39:43,890 Speaker 1: without the work of Jacob Weisberg, Greta Cohne, Corn Gilliard, Fisher, Bender, 499 00:39:43,930 --> 00:39:49,330 Speaker 1: Daff Haffrey, Eric Sandler, Christina Sullivan, Kira Posey, and Owen Miller. 500 00:39:50,090 --> 00:39:53,970 Speaker 1: Cautionary Tales is a production of Pushkin Industries. If you 501 00:39:54,050 --> 00:39:58,010 Speaker 1: like the show, please remember to share, rate and review. 502 00:39:58,250 --> 00:40:01,610 Speaker 1: It really does make a difference to us and if 503 00:40:01,650 --> 00:40:04,490 Speaker 1: you want to hear it, add free and receive a 504 00:40:04,570 --> 00:40:09,530 Speaker 1: bonus audio episode, video episode, and members only new letter 505 00:40:09,650 --> 00:40:13,970 Speaker 1: every month. Why not join the Cautionary Club. To sign up, 506 00:40:14,290 --> 00:40:18,850 Speaker 1: head to patreon dot com slash Cautionary Club. That's Patreon 507 00:40:19,210 --> 00:40:23,610 Speaker 1: p A t R e O N dot com slash 508 00:40:23,690 --> 00:40:24,570 Speaker 1: cautionary club