A Belfast woman, Nicola Hutton, 54, faced charges for deceiving a family by falsely claiming she would donate a kidney to a man in need. Hutton, labeled a “wicked, callous and evil liar” by the presiding judge, appeared in Belfast Magistrates’ Court for allegedly engaging in a deceitful act towards the Cullen family of Newtownabbey.
According to the court proceedings, Hutton initiated contact with the Cullen family under her maiden name Carlisle, expressing her intention to donate a kidney to Billy Cullen. She maintained this falsehood through months of text communication with the family, including a face-to-face meeting where the Cullen family treated her to lunch and a gift.
However, it was revealed during the trial that Hutton had not engaged with the transplant coordination team, as confirmed by a team member’s testimony. There was no record of Hutton pursuing any transplant-related procedures or appointments with the team.
Hutton claimed that she had registered as a stem cell donor in 2022 for altruistic reasons, but there was no verification of her engagement with the donation process. She asserted that she wanted her kidney specifically for Billy and did not wish to enter a general donor pool, prompting her to disclose her intentions to the Cullen family.
Judge Rafferty criticized Hutton for misleading the family about the transplant timeline, causing a six-month delay in Billy’s treatment, resulting in his dependence on dialysis. The judge condemned Hutton’s actions as deceitful and harmful, stating that she had dashed the family’s hopes of finding a kidney donor for Billy.
Following her conviction, Judge Rafferty described Hutton as a “wicked, callous and evil liar” who had exceeded the custody threshold with her actions. Hutton is set to appear for sentencing on October 30 and has been instructed to cooperate with the probation service to avoid further consequences.