HARTLEPOOL, England, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- The British boating enthusiast charged with faking his death avoided eye contact with his wife Wednesday at their first joint court appearance.
John and Anne Darwin were both remanded into custody in a brief hearing in Hartlepool Magistrate's Court, The Daily Mail reported. The hearing was the couple's first meeting since Darwin resurfaced in December, five years after he supposedly drowned -- although investigators say they met frequently while Darwin was officially missing.
The couple allegedly received thousands of pounds in fraudulent insurance payments and pension benefits.
Both spoke only to give their names Wednesday.
Darwin walked into a London police station in December, claiming amnesia and telling officers, "I think I'm a missing person."
He was arrested a few days later as his story began to unravel.
Anne Darwin, who had moved to Panama, was arrested on her return to England.
Since Darwin's reappearance, evidence has turned up that the couple looked at property together in Panama and that Darwin, using a false passport, once negotiated to buy a yacht.
