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RTE story that gripped nation is lies as ‘sick’ conwoman hoodwinks everyone

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RTE story that gripped nation is lies as ‘sick’ conwoman hoodwinks everyone

RTE viewers have been conned by a woman named Carrie Jade Williams as it is revealed that her heart-wrenching tale of terminal illness that gripped the nation was fake.

The extraordinary story piqued the interest of producers at the station- precisely because it seemed too good to be true.




Following several revelations, the broadcaster discovered the con artist’s real identity.

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In 2021, a 32-year-old English woman named Carrie Jade Williams contacted the RTÉ audio documentary unit with a heartbreaking story, telling the team that she had Huntington’s Disease and was terminally ill.

She claimed that she had been adopted so had no prior awareness of her medical history. She thought she might have a lifeline through lifesaving brain surgery, and she wanted RTÉ to record her final hope.

What followed was an unravelling of the most unusual of stories – Carrie Jade was not who she claimed to be – her real name is Samantha Cookes.

The documentary team were to discover over time that Carrie Jade Williams lived under a number of different identities. She sought out the vulnerable, right across Ireland and the UK, and despite several convictions and being unmasked many times, she has shown no sign of stopping.

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