Libby Vernon, 23, wore a silicone baby bump to convince her boyfriend he would be fathering her children – and even made him celebrate the news at a gender reveal party with his family
A man whose girlfriend lied about being pregnant with twins had him celebrate at a gender reveal party before telling him the non-existent babies had died.
Libby Vernon wore a silicone baby bump to convince her long-distance partner that he would soon be fathering her children, a court heard. It was the second pregnancy she had faked after previously telling him she fell pregnant by an “abusive” ex-partner – but that the baby died just four days after birth in 2023.
Vernon, who decided she wanted to raise the baby with her new partner, sent him a photo of a newborn with the words “someone wants to meet you” before telling him the baby had stopped breathing and passed away after doctors attempted CPR. She even went as far as providing a death certificate, which showed the baby’s cause of death to be Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), Workington Magistrates’ Court heard.
In yet another twisted move, the 23-year-old faked a second pregnancy with her new partner and held a gender reveal party in his hometown of Cumbria – with his family also under the impression that the pair were welcoming twin boys.
At one point during the supposed pregnancy, she told the victim she had a miscarriage, but then announced she had been misdiagnosed and the pregnancy continued. But after the gender reveal party, Vernon went to hospital again and told the victim that medical staff said the babies were no longer alive.
The boyfriend then arrived at the hospital where he discovered that Vernon had not been on to the maternity ward at all – and had been wearing a silicone baby bump, leaving him “significantly distressed”, the court heard. Prosecutor Pamela Fee thanked the court for allowing more time to review the charges in what had been a “complex” case. She said: “It’s something that we don’t come across all that often. It’s taken an awful lot of work.”
Mike Woolaghan, defending, told the court that there were no guidelines in place for any of the offences Vernon had committed. He said: “There is a risk that matters cross the custody threshold. This lady has no convictions at all. It’s evident there is a lot more going on below the surface than appears. It’s right to say there are no formal diagnoses of mental health issues or something going on that needs to be explored.”
Vernon pleaded guilty to four charges of sending communication conveying false information and five charges of sending false communication with intent to cause harm. She also admitted one charge of sending a false certificate regarding registration of a birth or death and will be sentenced on March 19. She was bailed with conditions not to enter Cumbria or to contact the victim by any means.
