Ex-wife of cancer conman reveals how fraudster nicknamed ‘Spleen’ by pals ‘gaslighted’ her for years into believing he was dying
Teacher Lucy Witchard, 31, told The Sun that her 'manipulative' former husband David Carroll, 35, made her doubt her own sanity with his bogus claims about dying from cancer
A DISTRAUGHT ex-wife has blasted her former husband for lying about having cancer and claimed he was "gaslighting" her whenever she questioned him.
Teacher Lucy Witchard, 31, branded David Carroll, 35, “a disgrace” for manipulating her - and for swindling her sick mum out of £2,000 for alleged treatment which he used for a trip to America.
Lucy, speaking out after Carroll was given a suspended sentence for fraud, claimed that her ex-husband made her doubt her own sanity for over eight years to exert control over her.
Lucy said: “I should have known better. I had my suspicions about him when he said he had terminal cancer because I was never allowed to come with him to any hospital scans.
"But he was so manipulative and always turned it round telling me I was meant to be accompanying him but I’d forgotten to and in the end I wasn't sure what I was thinking and maybe I was at fault.
“That’s exactly how he wanted me to feel, to confuse me and manipulate me and my mum to cover up his wicked lies.
“I was with him for eight and a half years, married for three and a half and now thankfully divorced from him.”
Lucy, a religious education teacher at St Pauls School in Evington, where her late father Bernard once taught the same subject, added: “He should have been jailed for his crime. What he did was despicable and he really hurt me, my mum and other family members. He is a disgrace.
“I never want to see him again, I couldn’t bear to and I’ve got rid of all our pictures. I can’t look at his face."
Compulsive liar Carroll, who squandered the cash given for a “miracle cure” during a holiday in America, also tried to swindle money raised for charity from his former rugby club.
Speaking from her home in Evington, Leicester, she told how her fantasist ex hubby had given a “similar sob story” to Aylestone Athletic RFU, telling them too he was a cancer victim.
She said: “One night there was a charity fund raiser, not specifically for him, but I think it was for another cause.
"The money raised went missing and a lot of questions were asked but it seems it re-appeared at a later date.
"Everyone suspects he had swiped it when they found out what he had done to me and my mum.
“I wonder how many other people he has conned or tried to con.
"That’s the only reason we took it to court to try and stop someone else falling prey to him.”
Carroll, was fondly nicknamed “Spleen” by his rugby pals after telling them he had a rare form of leukaemia and the club confirmed it even organised a fundraising “Spleenathon.”
A club member said: “Everyone felt seriously sorry for him. He became this ‘what an unfortunate chap' character."
WHAT IS GASLIGHTING?
GASLIGHTING is a term that is used to describe a form of psychological manipulation.
To gaslight someone is to use pattern behaviour to deceive and manipulate another into doubting their sanity.
Victims usually start to question their memory and perception as a result of psychological destabilisation.
Gaslight tactics are frequently adopted by sociopaths, narcissists and abusive partners in relationships.
Ultimately, it is a tool which is used to make the victim become dependent on the abuser and to deflect guilt.
Comedian Seann Walsh was accused of gaslighting his now ex-girlfriend Rebecca Humphries.
The Strictly star had accused her of being a "psycho" and "nuts"; during their relationship before she dumped him after The Sun revealed he kissed dance partner Katya Jones on a night out.
Lucy, who is now remarried to husband Keith and helps care for her mother Linda Eccles, 64, a multiple sclerosis sufferer at her home, told how when they first tried to bring action again him the Crown Prosecution Service rejected their claims, telling her: “You haven’t got a chance of a conviction.”
It was only when her brother Tom Eccles started investigating after the family became more suspicious that they pursued a criminal action against him.
She explained: “It was when he went off to America supposedly for treatment and we kind of knew later it was just a holiday, there was no cancer and no treatment.
";From there everything snowballed and it finally ended up in court. I think he should have been jailed.”
She added: “He is paying my mum back slowly, although we’ve yet to see an instalment, but it was never really about the money just the breach of trust and the terrible hurt he’s cause us.
"We were so concerned he would do it again and now hopefully that is an end to it.
“But the worse thing is he’s shown absolutely no remorse.
"There is also a restraining order which means he can’t be in the same vicinity as me or my mum.
"We just have to move on with our lives as best we can but it’s taken a real toll, particularly on my mum.”
Carroll was given a 26-week prison sentence suspended for two years by Leicester Magistrates’ Court last week for defrauding his family by false representation in the summer of 2015.
It was almost a year after his US holiday that his rugby club captain turned investigator following an anoymous tip off and discovered a carbon copy set of lies.