Passing sentence, the judge told her: “I do not recall encountering a series of acts or behaviour of such abject wickedness in many a long year.”
A Belfast woman who cruelly lied to a family about donating her kidney to help a seriously ill man in an act of “abject wickedness” has been jailed for five months.
Nicola Hutton deceived husband and wife Billy and Joanne Cullen who believed she was the answer to their prayers.
District Judge Francis Rafferty described the 54-year-old as an “emotional parasite” who fed off the couple’s despair and “luxuriated” in offering them false hope.
He told her: “You presented yourself as an angel or a saviour and took the kudos and credit for that when you knew that you were as malignant a process in their life as any illness or sickness.”
Hutton, of Strandburn Drive, was convicted of a false communication offence following a contested hearing at Belfast Magistrates’ Court.
She approached the family in August 2024 when they issued a public appeal on behalf of the man who had been suffering from kidney disease for 10 years.
With a kidney function of around 15%, his condition required a donor and daily dialysis.
Using the name Nicola Carlisle, the defendant responded on social media by offering to be a live donor and claiming to be on the transplant register.
Over a six-month period she sent the family text messages claiming to have attended medical appointments and received positive news that transplant surgery would happen by June 2025.
She also met with the couple in January, accepting a Marc Jacobs gift set from them as a gesture of thanks.
But a month later the man’s transplant coordination team informed him he would have to undergo daily dialysis because no match had been found.
When he queried the news, still believing Hutton had been accepted as a successful candidate, it was confirmed that she was never on the system.
The defendant maintained her deception after the family confronted her and blamed it on an error made by hospital staff.
At this point they blocked all communications with Hutton and contacted police.
Although a legitimate donor was subsequently found for the man, prosecutors said six months were wasted because of their trust in the defendant.
During the contest Hutton made unspecified claims about hospital appointments without any evidence to show they took place.
Her barrister, Peter Sands, accepted a family desperately seeking help in a dire situation would have suffered distress by what happened.
In a victim impact statement, the man’s wife told how they had been overwhelmed at the apparent kindness of a stranger who could be “the answer to our prayers”.
She said it was impossible not to feel relieved and hopeful when the defendant informed them that she had applied to be a donor.
At one point Hutton rang them to say she was standing in the rain after attending hospital tests, but had done it all to help the man.
Passing sentence, the judge told her: “I do not recall encountering a series of acts or behaviour of such abject wickedness in many a long year.
“Your repugnant, repellant behaviour was exacerbated by the fact that you maintained your catalogue of lies and evasions, you required a member of the transplant team to take themselves away from the work they do, to sit in court and listen to you lie about them, their procedures and their professionalism.”
Mr Rafferty went on: “At a time when the family were facing the gravest threat of all, the loss of a husband and a father, you decided to inject yourself into their world and spread poison, wickedness and false hope.
“A search process that exasperated the family, that caused them waking torment.”
He set out how the couple had called off their search for a donor, overjoyed when the fraudster informed them she was a match and offering “ not just respite but rescue”.
“A family saw you as their saviour and then (their) world stopped whenever your lies and your wicked machinations were exposed,” the judge stated.
“I can only imagine the abject horror they felt whenever they realised that you had been lying to them all along.”
The court heard how the man’s wife indicated she has now lost faith in humanity and would never understand how someone would do this to others in such a vulnerable situation.
“We were left mourning the loss of a solution to the worst situation possible,” she stated.
“We had to start the search process again, time was running out and (her husband) was becoming sicker by the day.”
Referring to Hutton’s complaint about receiving internet abuse since her offences were disclosed, the judge stressed she had engaged in online actions intended to cause emotional torment and physical trauma.
“You lied repeatedly that you were on the transplant register, you lied about your medical appointments, you obtained gifts from these people, you sat with them,” he told her.
“You led them on a dance where you deceived them at every turn.
“Like some form of emotional parasite, you were feeding off their despair and luxuriating in their hope and the kind comments online for doing what you were doing.”
Mr Rafferty described his sentencing powers for the offence as “scarcely appropriate”.
“I cannot imagine a more cruel act,” he added.
Jailing Hutton for five months, the judge stressed: “People that live in the online world such as yourself need to learn that actions have consequences.
“Given the catalogue and cascade of cruelty that you visited upon these people, the only sentence I can impose is one of immediate custody.
“A family in the battle of their lives found you on their doorstep, offering help and salvation.
“All the time you knew what you were doing was an act of practised and consummate wickedness.”
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