Black Widow
07-23-2010, 06:12 PM
http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01090/SNF2324C-682_1090903a.jpg
AS Nick Cameron and Danielle Heaney hold hands and kiss lovingly, Karina Cameron looks away uncomfortably.
The scene makes Karina feel extremely awkward - because the loved-up couple sharing it are BOTH her children.
Karina walked in on Nick, 31, and 25-year-old Danielle having sex four years ago after the pair - who have different fathers - met for the first time as adults.
She reported them to the police which led to the couple being charged with incest - and she was so appalled she disowned them.
But two years on Karina is now standing by her children's belief that they are victims of a recognised psychological phenomenon called Genetic Sexual Attraction or GSA.
Though Karina, 50, raised Danielle to adulthood, Nick was taken into foster care as a baby. But she tracked her son down in August 2006 after spending more than a decade trying to make contact.
Karina says: "I was overjoyed when he replied to a letter I sent him, and he agreed to visit my home. Danielle, who was married at the time, also wanted to meet her long-lost brother, so we were both there when he arrived.
"It was an emotionally charged reunion, but I would never have dreamed that this would be the outcome."
Danielle, who has a seven-year-old daughter with her now ex-husband, remembers the first time she set eyes on Nick.
She says: "The moment I saw him, I knew he was the man I wanted to be with for the rest of my life.
"Despite knowing that loving my brother is completely wrong, it felt right.
"I was married with a child at the time, but the moment we embraced for the first time I knew that I'd met my soul mate.
"He hugged Mum first and then looked at me and said, 'Well I'd better give you a hug too.' From that second I was in love."
Nick says: "It was very confusing, as we both instantly felt this overwhelming love for each other but knew we were brother and sister.
"I knew it was wrong to feel like that, but when I met Danielle I felt for the first time in my life that I was totally in love. I should feel ashamed of it, but I don't."
Danielle and Nick immediately started seeing each other every day and over the next two weeks their physical relationship developed.
Danielle recalls: "It started with us play-fighting and tickling each other - we were like children.
"But as the days went on, we became more tactile and would cuddle for long periods.
"Then Nick kissed me and although part of me knew how wrong it was to kiss my older brother, I couldn't stop myself."
With their love affair flourishing, Danielle made the extraordinary move of inviting Nick to move in with her and her husband and child.
She says: "My marriage was already in trouble and I wanted Nick to live with me.
"I'm not ashamed - I wanted him to be around me all the time."
But when Danielle's husband and daughter went out for the day, she and Nick were caught having sex on the sofa by their own mother.
Karina says: "I was horrified by what I discovered and screamed that I was going to call the police.
"I remember running from the house - my mind was racing and I couldn't take in what I had seen.
"I thought they were evil and disgusting, and I phoned the police the next day. However, now I realise that their behaviour is because of GSA." The pair - who had already had sex several times before Karina caught them - were charged in October 2006 and admitted numerous counts of incest.
Nick, a classically trained singer, says of the court case: "We didn't want to lie because we'd researched GSA and didn't believe we'd done anything wrong."
When the couple, from Glenrothes, Fife, appeared at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court they were granted bail.
But during the nine months it took for the case to come to trial, they were not allowed any contact.
Nick says: "It was a terrible time for both of us and we went through severe depression being apart." In January 2008 the couple received a suspended sentence under the ruling that if they have sex again, they will be jailed.
And while Danielle and Nick still appear very much a couple, they have now learned how to express their feelings for each other without having sex.
Nick stays in homeless accommodation at night and spends his days with Danielle at her house.
Danielle, who is divorced from her husband and is allowed weekly visiting rights to her daughter, explains: "We made a promise in court never to sleep together, so we now live as a celibate couple. We hug and kiss, but if things start going too far one of us will have the sense to stop it.
"It's not worth risking prison for, as that would mean we'd have to be apart."
Although GSA is still unusual, it is becoming more common, as the number of adoptive and donor reunions increases.
Research has found GSA affects nearly HALF of all close relatives who meet for the first time as adults, but few act on their urges.
Last week a mother from Detroit was jailed for having sex with the son she had given up for adoption at birth. Aimee L Sword, 36, who had traced him on Facebook, will serve at least nine years behind bars for the crime.
That case was further complicated by the fact her son was aged just 14 when they had sex.
Her lawyer said: "She truly can't understand why it happened."
After the near destruction of her own family, Karina is now warning other families about GSA.
And since finding out more about GSA three months ago she has been trying to rebuild her relationship with Nick and Danielle.
She says: "It was a huge shock seeing two people I gave birth to having sex. But since I have studied GSA I've learnt it is not uncommon in relatives who meet for the first time in adulthood.
"Obviously incest is a huge taboo, but I have come to terms with the fact my children can't help their feelings.
"I feel responsible, as Nick was taken from me at such an early age, so Danielle never met him when they were children. If they had grown up together, they would never have become a couple.
"I still find it very difficult to see them together, but they have sacrificed everything to be with each other. I know their relationship is something I have to accept. I want our story to be a warning to other people who think a reunion with a close relative means tears of joy and happiness. It can go horribly wrong."
Karina adds: "I have apologised to Nick and Danielle for my actions, as I know their behaviour is out of their control. I hate what GSA has done to our family and still have to look away when Nick and Danielle hug each other - but I've tried to understand their love.
"I love them and they are my children. As their mother, I realise that I have to accept the lifestyle they have chosen."
The Sun
AS Nick Cameron and Danielle Heaney hold hands and kiss lovingly, Karina Cameron looks away uncomfortably.
The scene makes Karina feel extremely awkward - because the loved-up couple sharing it are BOTH her children.
Karina walked in on Nick, 31, and 25-year-old Danielle having sex four years ago after the pair - who have different fathers - met for the first time as adults.
She reported them to the police which led to the couple being charged with incest - and she was so appalled she disowned them.
But two years on Karina is now standing by her children's belief that they are victims of a recognised psychological phenomenon called Genetic Sexual Attraction or GSA.
Though Karina, 50, raised Danielle to adulthood, Nick was taken into foster care as a baby. But she tracked her son down in August 2006 after spending more than a decade trying to make contact.
Karina says: "I was overjoyed when he replied to a letter I sent him, and he agreed to visit my home. Danielle, who was married at the time, also wanted to meet her long-lost brother, so we were both there when he arrived.
"It was an emotionally charged reunion, but I would never have dreamed that this would be the outcome."
Danielle, who has a seven-year-old daughter with her now ex-husband, remembers the first time she set eyes on Nick.
She says: "The moment I saw him, I knew he was the man I wanted to be with for the rest of my life.
"Despite knowing that loving my brother is completely wrong, it felt right.
"I was married with a child at the time, but the moment we embraced for the first time I knew that I'd met my soul mate.
"He hugged Mum first and then looked at me and said, 'Well I'd better give you a hug too.' From that second I was in love."
Nick says: "It was very confusing, as we both instantly felt this overwhelming love for each other but knew we were brother and sister.
"I knew it was wrong to feel like that, but when I met Danielle I felt for the first time in my life that I was totally in love. I should feel ashamed of it, but I don't."
Danielle and Nick immediately started seeing each other every day and over the next two weeks their physical relationship developed.
Danielle recalls: "It started with us play-fighting and tickling each other - we were like children.
"But as the days went on, we became more tactile and would cuddle for long periods.
"Then Nick kissed me and although part of me knew how wrong it was to kiss my older brother, I couldn't stop myself."
With their love affair flourishing, Danielle made the extraordinary move of inviting Nick to move in with her and her husband and child.
She says: "My marriage was already in trouble and I wanted Nick to live with me.
"I'm not ashamed - I wanted him to be around me all the time."
But when Danielle's husband and daughter went out for the day, she and Nick were caught having sex on the sofa by their own mother.
Karina says: "I was horrified by what I discovered and screamed that I was going to call the police.
"I remember running from the house - my mind was racing and I couldn't take in what I had seen.
"I thought they were evil and disgusting, and I phoned the police the next day. However, now I realise that their behaviour is because of GSA." The pair - who had already had sex several times before Karina caught them - were charged in October 2006 and admitted numerous counts of incest.
Nick, a classically trained singer, says of the court case: "We didn't want to lie because we'd researched GSA and didn't believe we'd done anything wrong."
When the couple, from Glenrothes, Fife, appeared at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court they were granted bail.
But during the nine months it took for the case to come to trial, they were not allowed any contact.
Nick says: "It was a terrible time for both of us and we went through severe depression being apart." In January 2008 the couple received a suspended sentence under the ruling that if they have sex again, they will be jailed.
And while Danielle and Nick still appear very much a couple, they have now learned how to express their feelings for each other without having sex.
Nick stays in homeless accommodation at night and spends his days with Danielle at her house.
Danielle, who is divorced from her husband and is allowed weekly visiting rights to her daughter, explains: "We made a promise in court never to sleep together, so we now live as a celibate couple. We hug and kiss, but if things start going too far one of us will have the sense to stop it.
"It's not worth risking prison for, as that would mean we'd have to be apart."
Although GSA is still unusual, it is becoming more common, as the number of adoptive and donor reunions increases.
Research has found GSA affects nearly HALF of all close relatives who meet for the first time as adults, but few act on their urges.
Last week a mother from Detroit was jailed for having sex with the son she had given up for adoption at birth. Aimee L Sword, 36, who had traced him on Facebook, will serve at least nine years behind bars for the crime.
That case was further complicated by the fact her son was aged just 14 when they had sex.
Her lawyer said: "She truly can't understand why it happened."
After the near destruction of her own family, Karina is now warning other families about GSA.
And since finding out more about GSA three months ago she has been trying to rebuild her relationship with Nick and Danielle.
She says: "It was a huge shock seeing two people I gave birth to having sex. But since I have studied GSA I've learnt it is not uncommon in relatives who meet for the first time in adulthood.
"Obviously incest is a huge taboo, but I have come to terms with the fact my children can't help their feelings.
"I feel responsible, as Nick was taken from me at such an early age, so Danielle never met him when they were children. If they had grown up together, they would never have become a couple.
"I still find it very difficult to see them together, but they have sacrificed everything to be with each other. I know their relationship is something I have to accept. I want our story to be a warning to other people who think a reunion with a close relative means tears of joy and happiness. It can go horribly wrong."
Karina adds: "I have apologised to Nick and Danielle for my actions, as I know their behaviour is out of their control. I hate what GSA has done to our family and still have to look away when Nick and Danielle hug each other - but I've tried to understand their love.
"I love them and they are my children. As their mother, I realise that I have to accept the lifestyle they have chosen."
The Sun