Man who pretended to be blind to get sympathy and carers found dead in a ditch
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Geoffrey Haywood, who pretended to be blind to get people to pity him, was found dead in a flooded ditch, an inquest heard
A man who told people he was blind so they would pity him was found dead in a flooded ditch, an inquest heard yesterday.
Geoffrey Haywood, 65, walked with a white stick, used a talking watch and had carers to look after him.
But the inquest was told he could see perfectly well and if someone dropped money on a pavement he would be the first to pick it up.
Mr Haywood was pretending to be blind when he went for a walk near his home and fell into the water-filled ditch, where his body was found by searchers.The coroner described it as the most extraordinary case he had dealt with in more than 30 years.
Mr Haywood’s brother Howard said: ‘Geoffrey had psychological blindness which started after the death of our mother. I would put a Christmas dinner in front of him and he would say, “Where’s mine?” But if someone dropped money in front of him he would pick it up straight away.
‘I believe he used it as a way of convincing people to take pity on him and help him. It became worse the more pressure that was on him, when he was lonely or if things weren’t going his way.’
The inquest in Newport, South Wales, heard that doctors could find nothing wrong with Mr Haywood’s sight even though he lived the life of a blind man.
A massive search took place in March after he vanished from his home in the city. The hearing was told his body was found in a ditch 150 yards from his front door.
Coroner David Bowen, who recorded a verdict of accidental death, said: ‘Either he didn’t see or didn’t want to see the ditch, slipped and drowned.
‘It’s an extraordinary situation I’ve not come across before. I’ve been doing this more than 30 years and have never had a case as unique as this – someone convincing themselves they couldn’t see.’
Bachelor Mr Haywood was living in sheltered housing in Newport when he disappeared.
A view of Newport in Wales, where Mr Haywood lived
One of the other residents, who did not want to be named, said: ‘Wherever he went you could hear the tapping of his cane. Most people thought his sight was impaired but you didn’t have to be with him for long to realise he could see as well as anybody else.’
Detective Sergeant Sam Payne told the hearing Mr Haywood enjoyed walking in woodland near his home and had previously been discovered wandering there.
Mr Haywood, who was only 5ft 2in tall, had lived with his mother for most of his life and worked as a mechanic for Land-Rover for more than 25 years.
His family believe he pretended to be blind so people would care for him like his mother used to. His sister-in-law Carol Haywood, 63, said his life ‘seemed to fall apart’ when his mother died about ten years ago.
She said: ‘He couldn’t cope without her. She had been his rock but when she was gone all his problems started. It didn’t happen overnight but he gradually got worse and became more and more convinced he was blind.
‘We think he pretended to be blind because it made him seem vulnerable, and he just wanted people to care for him like his mother used to.’
She added: ‘He suffered with psychological problems his whole life. He was born with only one ear, children used to tease him terribly at school and I don’t think he ever really got over that.’
Psychologists say people can believe they are blind after suffering an emotional shock.
While the interior of the eye appears normal, their emotional turmoil causes them to block off visual impulses to the brain.
Once called hysterical blindness, it is a recognised psychiatric disorder and psychological counselling may help. However, when the blindness is feigned it no longer qualifies as a medical disorder.
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This was a friend of ours, and since his mother died he had been mentally unbalanced for about 10 years, like everyone else he was vetted by Social Services and they got everything for him, Geoff asked for nothing, he didn't even have a clue how to go about it. He got so bad he lost his home and ended up in sheltered accommodation as he couldn't take care of himself. He wandered off many times and the police found him, his problem was he couldn't find his way home. Hence after four days of searching he was tragically found in a ditch. He couldn't cope with people coming to his home from here there and everywhere, he was also partially deaf (as he only had one ear). So before people make a judgement about someone who can't answer back, you need to know all the facts. Personally I would blame Social Services as they tried to cut him off from family and friend., money went missing from his account on a regular basis but no one did anything about that for him and they knew who it was.
- Mary , Wales, 29/7/2012 18:10
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