The defendant allegedly targeted several elderly female widowers, befriending them, wooing them, and persuading them to transfer large sums of money and or property to him in a series of elaborate “romance scams”. He married the latest alleged victim and was in the process of arranging the transfer of her property and funds into his name when her family intervened. The case was a bitter contest as the family claimed she was not capable of making any decisions herself and sought to have her made a ward of court. The defendant’s case was that he loved his wife, the family had it in for him and their sole motive was to access her funds themselves. As a result of defence submissions concerning significant defects in the investigation and delays affecting the fairness of the proceedings, the prosecution offered no further evidence.
