"Mrs Cullen told BBC News NI they believed Hutton was an "angel" who would save her husband's life. "She said: 'I'm a match, everything's fine'," Mrs Cullen said. "And we just thought this woman's an angel. She's come into our lives, she's going to save my husband's life. And at this stage Billy couldn't work any longer because he was just rapidly deteriorating. Things got on their way and as far as we were concerned Nicola was going to be our donor.""
"Hutton told the pair that she was attending appointments and having tests carried out, and that the operation would be performed within months. The court heard how Hutton also met with the couple, who gave her a Marc Jacobs gift set as a gesture of thanks. Mrs Cullen said: "Then one day we got a phone call from the kidney team saying, 'There's no more we can do for you Billy'. We said, 'No, no, we have a donor'. We were told, 'No you don't have a donor. The kidney team did their own investigations and found this woman had never applied to be a donor. She had never so much as sent off a form or a phone call.'""
"District Judge Francis Rafferty described her act as one of "abject wickedness". He said she was an "emotional parasite" who fed off the couple's despair and "luxuriated" in offering them false hope."
Nicola Hutton falsely promised to donate a kidney to Billy Cullen, who was rapidly deteriorating and in need of a transplant. Hutton told the couple she was attending appointments and undergoing tests, and that the operation would take place within months. The couple met Hutton and gave her a gift in gratitude, believing she was a matching donor. Hospital staff later discovered Hutton had never applied or contacted the transplant service. Hutton was convicted of a false communication offence and sentenced to five months' imprisonment. The judge condemned her behaviour as cruel and exploitative.
Read at www.bbc.com
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