The passage between the houses—coffin-shaped doorway, hardboard painted to look like cupboard backing, breeze-block infill—had been blocked up before the sale of number 4 in the weeks before Anne moved to Panama. It had been decommissioned as the Panama plan reached its final stage. But it had existed, and it had served its purpose during the years when Darwin lived next door to his wife and their sons grieved at family dinners in number 3.
Detective Inspector Andy Greenwood of Cleveland Police later commented publicly on the financial side of the investigation. He called Anne Darwin “despicable.” He said the asset recovery teams would work to recover the money. He mentioned the absence of an extradition treaty between Panama and the United Kingdom as something that had created anxiety about whether Darwin could have fled back before arrest.
The emails between John and Anne that investigators found during the inquiry are another significant element. They described a relationship that was, by their private correspondence, warm and sometimes flirtatious. This evidence became important at Anne’s trial the following year, when she sought to portray herself as a coerced partner. The emails told a different story.
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## The Charges
John and Anne Darwin were charged in December 2007 and January 2008. By March 2008, the cases were at Leeds Crown Court.
John Darwin entered guilty pleas on March 13, 2008. He admitted seven counts of obtaining cash by deception and one passport offence. Additional counts against him remained on file. His guilty plea was entered before any trial proceeded; he had admitted the essentials of what he had done.