The Darwins: How one photo on the internet revealed a faked death and insurance fraud

"When the going gets tough, some people fake their deaths." That's the saying, right? It is if you're John and Anne Darwin. When they fell into massive debt, John schemed a way to net them life insurance money. They almost pulled it off.

John Darwin was born and raised in Northern England. He and Anne married in the 1970s. He taught school, worked at a bank, and even did a stint as a prison guard. The couple had a side hustle owning and renting single-room-occupancy houses--'bedsits'--which put them in debt.

On a beautiful March day in 2002, John paddled out to sea in his canoe. He was reported missing after not showing up to work. A large search by sea and air turned up his canoe and paddle. There was no sign of John; he was presumed dead.

John wasn't dead. He was actually living in one of his bedsits next door to his own family. In 2003, he became so bold that he moved back in with his family in their home. But a few close encounters with neighbors made the family consider living abroad.

Darwin was able to obtain a UK passport using a fake name stolen from a boy who died in 1950. The family decided on Panama. In 2006, they flew there to meet with a realtor. The broker was overjoyed with his new clients. He snapped a picture and posted it.

The Darwins had to come and go from the UK to finalize details and transfer assets. A chance eavesdropping colleague overheard Anne speaking with John on the phone. Suspicious, she reported it. The police began an investigation.

Simultaneous with the investigation, Panama changed their laws. John's fake-name passport wasn't going to cut it anymore. He decided to reappear in as unlikely a manner as he disappeared. He waltzed into a police station, claiming to have just recovered from a five year amnesia.

Anne and their (adult) children, who claim they were duped too, were publicly elated with his miraculous return. But the media attention contributed to their downfall. A random, curious internet sleuth found the realtor's picture from their 2006 house hunting trip.

John and Anne were convicted for fraud. They were released in 2011. Several television shows and books have been released about the case, including most recently The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe. The couple divorced. John remarried...a 30 year-old. He lives in Panama.

There really isn't much a moral to be found in the Darwin case. While the couple did go to jail, it was for a laughably short period of time. Had that picture never surfaced and that call not been overheard, they may have gotten away with it.