Woman 'strung Along' Seriously Ill Man Over Kidney Donation

A Belfast female who "strung along" a earnestly sick man pinch lies that she would donate her kidney to him has been branded "callous" and "not human".

On Thursday, Nicola Hutton, from Strandburn Drive, was sentenced to 5 months successful situation aft being convicted of a mendacious connection offence.

The 54-year-old had contacted Billy Cullen, who was successful request of a kidney transplant, and his woman Joanne pursuing their entreaty for a donor.

Mrs Cullen told BBC News NI they believed Hutton was an "angel" who would prevention her husband's life.

"She said: 'I'm a match, everything's fine'," Mrs Cullen said.

"And we conscionable thought this woman's an angel. She's travel into our lives, she's going to prevention my husband's life. And astatine this shape Billy couldn't activity immoderate longer because he was conscionable quickly deteriorating. Things sewage connected their measurement and arsenic acold arsenic we were concerned Nicola was going to beryllium our donor."

Hutton told nan brace that she was attending appointments and having tests carried out, and that nan cognition would beryllium performed wrong months.

The tribunal heard really Hutton besides met pinch nan couple, who gave her a Marc Jacobs gift group arsenic a motion of thanks.

Mrs Cullen said: "Then 1 time we sewage a telephone telephone from nan kidney squad saying, 'There's nary much we tin do for you Billy'. We said, 'No, no, we person a donor'.

"We were told, 'No you don't person a donor. The kidney squad did their ain investigations and recovered this female had ne'er applied to beryllium a donor. She had ne'er truthful overmuch arsenic sent disconnected a shape aliases a telephone call."

She said nan family's "world came crashing down".

Hutton appeared earlier Belfast Magistrates' Court for sentencing connected Thursday, wherever District Judge Francis Rafferty described her enactment arsenic 1 of "abject wickedness".

He said she was an "emotional parasite" who fed disconnected nan couple's despair and "luxuriated" successful offering them mendacious hope.

"You presented yourself arsenic an angel aliases a saviour and took nan kudos and in installments for that erstwhile you knew that you were arsenic malignant a process successful their life arsenic immoderate unwellness aliases sickness," nan judge said.

"Your repugnant, repellent behaviour was exacerbated by nan truth that you maintained your catalogue of lies and evasions, you required a personnel of nan transplant squad to return themselves distant from nan activity they do, to beryllium successful tribunal and perceive to you dishonesty astir them, their procedures and their professionalism," he added.

"At a clip erstwhile nan family were facing nan gravest threat of all, nan nonaccomplishment of a hubby and a father, you decided to inject yourself into their world and dispersed poison, wickedness and mendacious hope.

"A hunt process that exasperated nan family, that caused them waking torment."

He group retired really nan mates had called disconnected their hunt for a donor, overjoyed erstwhile Hutton informed them she was a lucifer and offering "not conscionable respite but rescue".

"A family saw you arsenic their saviour and past (their) world stopped whenever your lies and your wicked machinations were exposed," nan judge stated.

"I tin only ideate nan abject scary they felt whenever they realised that you had been lying to them each along."

The tribunal heard that while Mr Cullen has since received a kidney from a morganatic donor, nan six months wasted believing that Hutton was a philanthropist could person had nan astir superior beingness consequence.

Mrs Cullen told nan BBC that erstwhile nan family first appealed for a philanthropist successful summertime 2024, her husband's kidney usability was astatine 15 per cent.

She said by nan clip Nicola had "strung america on for six months", his usability had dropped to 9 and 10 per cent.

"He past had to person room to person dialysis tubes put successful and he past had to commence dialysis," she said.

"He went done an atrocious batch of emotions. It wasn't conscionable nan truth that she did it to us, it was conscionable why? We conscionable don't understand, still don't understand what she could perchance get retired of this. The hunt should person continued and would person continued if I did not judge this woman's callous lies."

In court, referring to Hutton's title astir receiving net maltreatment since her offences were disclosed, nan judge stressed she had engaged successful online actions intended to origin affectional torment and beingness trauma.

"You lied many times that you were connected nan transplant register, you lied astir your aesculapian appointments, you obtained gifts from these people, you sat pinch them," he told her.

"You led them connected a creation wherever you deceived them astatine each turn.

"Like immoderate shape of affectional parasite, you were feeding disconnected their despair and luxuriating successful their dream and nan benignant comments online for doing what you were doing."

Mr Rafferty described his sentencing powers for nan offence arsenic "scarcely appropriate".

"I cannot ideate a much sadistic act," he added.

Jailing Hutton for 5 months, nan judge stressed: "People that unrecorded successful nan online world specified arsenic yourself request to study that actions person consequences.

"Given nan catalogue and cascade of cruelty that you visited upon these people, nan only condemnation I tin enforce is 1 of contiguous custody.

"A family successful nan conflict of their lives recovered you connected their doorstep, offering thief and salvation.

"All nan clip you knew what you were doing was an enactment of practised and consummate wickedness."

Following sentencing connected Thursday, Hutton subsequently lodged an entreaty and has been released connected bail.