Sometimes when life's problems pile up, it's nice to imagine starting all over again. For some people, getting a fresh start at life is so important they will do just about anything to make it happen - including fake their own death. While it seems crazy, people who faked their own death to avoid their problems - be it impending criminal charges, souring relationships, or piling bills - really do exist.
These cases of bizarre staged death are surprising, strange, and sometimes pretty funny. But before you start planning your own escape, take a real close look at these criminals who faked their death. While some are more creative than others, in the end they all got caught.
Strange Tales of People Who Faked Their Own Deaths And Almost Got Away With It,
Ari Squire Faked His Own Death, Stole A Man's Identity, And Then Committed Suicide
Ari Squire wanted to start over - specifically he wanted to start over as Justin Newman. In 2008, the Illinois man hatched a scheme to murder the real Newman - a friend of his - and assume his identity, all while making it appear as if Squire was the one who was actually dead. He swapped clothes and wallets with Newman, and bought a brown wig and blue contacts to look like him. He then lured him to his house, killed him, and lit his body on fire in Squire's garage, staging it to look like a freak accident.
Authorities originally believed the badly burned body they found was Squire, and so did his family. In reality, Squire fled to Missouri assuming his new identity. But Newman's mother reported him missing, and police ran tests on the burned body's teeth. It wasn't Squire, it was Newman. Police tracked the real Squire down, but before they could arrest him he killed himself.
Connie Franklin Testified At His Own Murder Trial
In 1929, Tiller Ruminer went to police officers in Stone County, Arkansas with a crazy story. Ruminer told police she and her boyfriend Connie Franklin were captured by a group of men while they were going to get a marriage license. She said the men murdered Franklin, mutilated and burned his body, and then raped her. She identified five men as her attackers, and they were quickly arrested.
So that's why it was alarming when people reported seeing Franklin around town looking for work. As a murder trial pressed on, authorities eventually identified Franklin and made him testify. Despite this, Ruminer maintained her boyfriend had been murdered.
It turned out Franklin schemed his own death as an attempt to start over. But this wasn't the first time he'd tried this trick. His real name was Marion Franklin Rogers, a father of four who had escaped a mental hospital. The five men accused of murder were cleared on all charges.
John Stonehouse Got Caught Because Of Really Bad Timing
Before John Stonehouse tried to fake his own death, he was known as a Labour Party secretary in the British Parliament. He felt he was trapped in an unhappy marriage and wanted to run off with his lover and secretary, Sheila Buckley. In 1974, he went to a beach in Miami and disappeared. Presumed to have drowned, he basically got away with faking his own death. He moved to Australia with Buckley to set up a new life, and used a fake name set up a bank account.
Things went wrong when another British man disappeared at the same time. The same year Stonehouse faked his own death, Richard John Bingham, otherwise known as Lord Lucan, went missing as well. His wife was attacked, their nanny was murdered, and he was nowhere to be found. His wife said Bingham had attacked her, and a manhunt began. Back in Australia, a teller at Stonehouse's bank started becoming suspicious of him, and suspected he might be Lord Lucan. Police arrested him believing he was Lucan, but quickly determined he was Stonehouse. He was charged with fraud, theft, conspiracy to defraud, and causing a false police investigation.
Alison Matera Faked Cancer To Avoid Church, Then Attended Her Own Funeral At The Church
Instead of telling her church community that she just wasn't into them anymore, Florida woman Alison Matera decided to tell them she had cancer. In 2007, she pretended to be sick for a year, checking in with the members of her church periodically to give them updates on her health. When she stopped going to church altogether, she told her friends she had checked into a hospice. She posed as a nurse when she called the pastor to inform him of her death.
Alison just couldn't stay away from her funeral, though. She showed up pretending to be a sister and was immediately recognized. Members of the church were obviously hurt and extremely confused, and filed a report with the Pasco County Sheriff's Office.
Ken Kesey Faked A Drowning To Avoid Drug Charges
Ken Kesey, author of the classic novel One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, faked his own death in 1965. Kesey - a recreational drug user - was arrested for marijuana possession twice. The more paranoid he got, the more he worried about these arrests. To avoid going to jail, he parked his car near the ocean in Encino, CA, and left a suicide note. His friends helped smuggle him over the border to Mexico, where he stayed for a few months. The FBI, however, didn't believe he had really killed himself and continued searching for him.
He returned to the United States less than a year later, and was sent to jail for five months.
Alfred Rouse Set His Car On Fire With Someone Else's Body Inside
In 1930, Alfred Rouse found himself in a bit of trouble. Facing mounting child support payments for his various illegitimate children, Rouse decided to fake his own death. He murdered a hitchhiker he met while driving down the road, put the dead body in his car, and lit it on fire. As he was escaping, he was spotted by two witnesses.
After he was arrested, he tried to claim that the car had burst into flames because the hitchhiker was smoking a cigar near gasoline cans. The jury didn't buy it and he was hanged in 1931. The identity of the hitchhiker was never officially determined, but some believe the man was James Brick. Brick, who lived near where Rouse torched his car, was known to be hitchhiking in the area at the time. His family said he disappeared shortly before the incident, and are trying to get DNA testing done to definitely prove whether it's him.
Michael R. Rosen, Serial Forger, Botched His Fake Death Certificate
Salem, MA, resident Michael R. Rosen was a serial forger, but apparently he wasn't very good at it. He was wanted for credit card fraud and larceny charges, and to get out of his legal battles, he decided to forge his own death certificate which he submitted to multiple agencies including the courts.
The death certificate he turned in was rife with misspellings and he used incorrect medical jargon as his alleged cause of death. It was even missing the raised seal typically found on official documents, but it still almost managed to pass for a real death certificate. Rosen's probation officer had doubts and eventually proved the certificate had been forged. They found him at his mom's house, and slapped a few more charges on him.
Alfredo Sanchez Left His Fingerprints On His Cremation Certificate
British couple Alfredo and Sophie Sanchez found themselves in a lot of trouble in 2004. They had mounting debts they couldn't get under control, and were desperate for a way out. Then, in 2005, they figured out a way to solve their problems. Sanchez, a designer for music retailer HMV, would fake his own death to receive nearly $1 million in insurance payouts.
Sophie called HMV and told them that her husband had died while in South America. She said his body was cremated and offered his death certificate as proof. The company believed her, and all was going according to plan until one of Alfredo's friends tried using his employee discount card at HMV. When the company said Alfredo had died, the friend was surprised. This triggered an investigation by police, who found Alfredo's fingerprints on his death certificate. Both Sophie and Alfredo - who had relocated to Australia - were arrested.
Marcus Schrenker Parachuted Out Of A Plane Before It Crashed To Stage His Death
Marcus Schrenker was a respected Indianapolis money manager who seemed to be living the dream. He had a beautiful $4 million home, had a wife and three kids, and he owned a private plane. But that was all a facade. Behind the scenes Schrenker's life was nothing but a huge mess.
He was deep in debt, cheating on his wife, and was accused of committing securities fraud. When the state moved to revoke his securities license in 2009, Schrenker hatched a plan to leave his problems behind. He boarded his plane, flew over rural Alabama, and jumped out with a parachute, crashing the plane and allowing him to land safely below. But he made it seem as if he disappeared in the wreckage somehow. He hid out in campgrounds across Alabama and Florida while police searched for him.
Investigators found travel books in the wreckage with the pages for Florida and Alabama torn out, so they had a pretty good idea of where he might be hiding. When they found him, he was suffering from self-inflicted wounds. Apparently, the fake death turned into a very real suicide attempt.
Frank Umbrello Sent A Fax To Police Claiming He Had Committed Suicide
In 2008, Frank Umbrello decided the only way to get out of trouble was to fake his own death. The Canadian man made more than $20,000 through credit card and eBay scams, and when he felt authorities closing in on him, he pretended to commit suicide. He sent a fake fax to police claiming his body had been discovered, apparently having committed suicide after the death of his mother.
It didn't work. Police found Umbrello alive and well just a few hours after receiving the fax. He was charged for the fraud and sentenced to 18 months in jail.