Royalty, wealth, and deception—sometimes life writes the most astonishing stories. Some stories cut deep as they expose betrayals and secrets that leave us questioning the meaning of trust!
For 45 years, Michelin-star pastry chef Graham Hornigold lived without knowing his mother. Born in Germany, Graham was raised in the United Kingdom by his alcoholic, abusive, army veteran father after his mother left when he was a baby. Despite this lifelong absence, the void in his heart stood unchallenged—until 2020, when his own family was about to begin.
When his wife, fellow pâtissier Heather Kaniuk, became pregnant with their first child, Graham felt compelled to dig into his mysterious past. He had ample time due to nationwide lockdowns. The couple set out on a journey to piece together his long-lost parentage. The events took an unexpected turn when Graham received an email from a woman named Dionne. She was formerly known as Theresa and claimed to be his mother.
Dionne’s confession was as astonishing as it was extravagant. Her claim didn’t stop with being his mother that Graham has never known. She also boasted of owning several global enterprises. The twist doesn’t stop here. Dionne claimed to be the illegitimate daughter of the former Sultan of Brunei—enough to portrayed to be both mysterious and rich.
Graham recalls the moment their paths finally crossed. “The feeling I had when I first met her was not to be a baby but it felt like I was someone’s baby,” he explained in the Netflix true crime series Con Mum, which premiered on March 25. For a brief period, it seemed as though his life was about to be changed. Dionne welcomed him into her opulent world with lavish displays; plush cars, expensive hotels, and designer gifts for both Graham and Heather, not to mention a warm welcome for their soon-to-be-born son.
However, the tide took an unexpected turn when Dionne broke a heartbreaking announcement. In the months following their reunion, she revealed that she had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and had only a few months left to live. According to her, the diagnosis was meant to secure a future for her new family by transferring her vast fortune to Graham once she was gone. She even arranged for meetings in Switzerland with prominent bankers and urged Graham to sign documents that would facilitate the transfer of her assets.
A long lost mother, or a con for the ages?
CON MUM is now playing on Netflix. pic.twitter.com/w63qWh5JD3
— Netflix UK & Ireland (@NetflixUK) March 25, 2025
Graham was determined to honor the promise of a renewed family bond. He traveled to Zurich, leaving Heather behind to care for their newborn. In Zurich, the meetings with Swiss financiers and business owners took off. But as weeks passed, Graham realized that nothing concrete was being finalized. He started being in unease when, back home, Heather noticed irregularities in her own financial accounts—thousands of pounds were being transferred to Dionne.
Now, the suspicion was sky-high. Heather took it upon herself to research Dionne’s background. With the investigation, they found out several red flags; not only did Dionne’s official documents reveal discrepancies regarding her birth date and lineage, but she also had a past record of fraud, including a stint in jail. With all the evidence, Heather confronted Graham about the disturbing findings. Devastated by the possibility that the woman he had accepted as his mother might be nothing more than a seasoned con-artist, Graham went on to confront Dionne directly.
She was denying the allegations. However, Dionne’s evasive responses and the discovery of a bottle of red food coloring in her belongings; which Graham suspected was used to fake the appearance of her terminal cancer, forced him to take further action. Graham decided to have a DNA test to come to complete clarity. In a twist that left him reeling, the results confirmed that Dionne was indeed his biological mother!
Millionaire, manipulator, mum? Is senior citizen Dionne looking for her long-lost son…. or trying to pull off the mother of all deceptions?
Meet CON MUM, a new true crime story, only on Netflix 25 March. pic.twitter.com/2qabVm7lh3
— Netflix UK & Ireland (@NetflixUK) March 11, 2025
“She lied,” Graham said in the documentary. “And I made life-changing decisions based on that. I’ve made choices that have affected my partner, my son.” After confronting with the bitter truth, Graham made the heart-wrenching decision to cut ties with Dionne, refusing to refer to her as ‘mum’ any longer.
Despite the betrayal and the staggering financial loss—reportedly a six-figure sum siphoned off by Dionne—Graham chose not to press criminal charges. The documentary Con Mum reveals that no criminal proceedings have been initiated against Dionne but her deception has left an indelible mark on his life and the lives of his loved ones.
As it turns out, Graham’s story is a cautionary reminder of misplaced trust and the high cost of family secrets. No mother should be doing this with their child and leave them devastated to pick up the pieces of a broken identity.
