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Faking your own Death

HungryJoeHungryJoe
edited January 2009 in News
I have kind of mixed feelings about this guy. He did wrong and everything, sure, but he tried to fake his own death, which is awesome. Does anyone have any better ideas for faking death than this guy did?
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Comments

  • JasonJason
    The problem is that to verify a death the coroner needs a body. To fake a dead body, you need to find a way to a) get a body and b) ruin it so that it can be recognized as you while passing a forensic examination. Good luck with that.
  • Luke BurrageLuke Burrage
    The problem is that to verify a death the coroner needs a body. To fake a dead body, you need to find a way to a) get a body and b) ruin it so that it can be recognized as you while passing a forensic examination. Good luck with that.
    I have an identical twin brother. I've always imagined the only use for him when he dies is as a personalized organ donor bank. Now, if he dies before me, I can keep his body for a while, then fake my own death. Thanks for the idea!
  • MrRobotoMrRoboto
    The problem is that to verify a death the coroner needs a body. To fake a dead body, you need to find a way to a) get a body and b) ruin it so that it can be recognized as you while passing a forensic examination. Good luck with that.
    Crash your plane at sea
  • HungryJoeHungryJoe
    The problem is that to verify a death the coroner needs a body.
    Does he really? Are there any deaths that would leave only teeth behind? How about a death where there was a plane crash or car crash with some evidence that the decedent crawled away, but the body was never found?
  • AprecheApreche
    As has been pointed out, the key to faking death is the body. Most ways for you to die leave a body behind. In order for you to fake your death in any of those ways, you would have to create a fake corpse. That is effectively impossible, and infeasible, to create a corpse that will pass any amount of investigation. Between DNA and dental records, it's just not going to work.

    Thus, the key to faking your death. is to die in a fashion in which your body is not expected to be recovered. Airplanes are a very popular method, as demonstrated by Krusty the Clown. Planes crashing and bodies not being found can still make people pretty confident you are dead. Here are some other ideas.

    If a large building collapses, and people believe you were inside, and you also happen to disappear with the correct timing to make it work.

    Pretend to get killed out in the ocean and secretly escaping in a submarine or some such.

    Go on some kind of adventure into the jungle, or across Antarctica, and never return.

    Pretend to get kidnapped and killed, perhaps by terrorists of some sort. If there is video of you being killed, and they never return the body, it should work.

    The second part of faking your death is starting a new life. This is very difficult because you will need forged documents to get into most countries. A good plan might be to go to some small island. Having people you can trust help you out will make a big difference. If your friends are particulary powerful, it will make a huge difference. If you are friends with someone in a good place in government, they can possibly create a new identity for you with non-forged paperwork. Even better is if you yourself work in govt., and can create the new identity.
  • RymRym
    Should we do a show on this? ;^)
  • Nine BoomerNine Boomer
    Should we do a show on this? ;^)
    That would be epic win. A perfect Thursday show, just the way it should be.
  • Luke BurrageLuke Burrage
    The second part of faking your death is starting a new life. This is very difficult because you will need forged documents to get into most countries.
    If you have the resources to manage the other points, fake documents shouldn't be too tricky. In many cases a police report showing your passport has been stolen is good enough to fly home.
  • HungryJoeHungryJoe
    edited January 2009
    I don't know how common or successful it is to simply assume another identity, but I know that people try it. I had a criminal case back in KY where this guy had "kidnapped" (actually, since he had a colorable claim of custody, he was only charged with custodial interference) his son and, when the police found them, they also found all sorts of forged and real documents the guy was collecting in order to establish new identities for himself and the kid.

    How much easier would this have been in the pioneer days? If Joe Weaver Jackson decided his life in Boston sucked and, if he could make it, he could go to San Fransisco and just say he was Peter Parker.
    Post edited by HungryJoe on
  • SchnevetsSchnevets
    On the subject, I have to recommend the movie Harold and Maude. The premier film on faking your own death AND falling in love with 79 year old women.


    Also, I think a much underrated way of faking death is keeping things as vague as possible. You decided to go fishing on your boat, you never came back, a piece of the boat did. End of story. (Although the kidnapping idea is awesome)
  • SailSail
    How come no one has made a Tom Sawyer reference yet?
  • NuriNuri
    My ideas include pulling out your money BEFORE you supposedly died, not showing your ID to the cops AFTER the event that supposedly killed you, and not using your financial accounts after that event.

    Faking the death isn't even the hard part. Establishing a new identity if you're staying in the same country is tough as hell. Sure, you can create docs that look legit, but as soon as someone runs a background check on you or does any looking, shit hits the fan. If you want to set up any kind of bank account, get a real job, or anything like that, you're pretty screwed.
  • JasonJason
    The problem is that to verify a death the coroner needs a body.
    Does he really? Are there any deaths that would leave only teeth behind? How about a death where there was a plane crash or car crash with some evidence that the decedent crawled away, but the body was never found?
    Do you happen to have a short explanation of how one can be legally pronounced dead without a body? If you disappear, is there a certain time limit before you are "dead?"
  • HMTKSteveHMTKSteve
    A Hong Kong man who faked his own death in the 11 September attacks on the World Trade Center in New York has been sent to prison for four years.

    Police Charge 'Dead' Briton With Fraud

    @Jason: Death in absentia
  • Kate MonsterKate Monster
    edited January 2009
    I have an identical twin brother. I've always imagined the only use for him when he dies is as a personalized organ donor bank. Now, if he dies before me, I can keep his body for a while, then fake my own death. Thanks for the idea!
    The only use for him!? you look at your sibling and only see a bag of flesh? Wow. That is harsh.

    I concur with Nuri, unless you enjoy living the life of an isolated hermit in the hills, then the hardest part would be faking a new identity. Stealing an identity isn't terribly difficult as long as you don't try to leave the country with fake ID.
    Post edited by Kate Monster on
  • CremlianCremlian
    I have an identical twin brother. I've always imagined the only use for him when he dies is as a personalized organ donor bank. Now, if he dies before me, I can keep his body for a while, then fake my own death. Thanks for the idea!
    The only use fore him!? you look at your sibling and only see a bag of flesh? Wow. That is harsh.

    I concur with Nuri, unless you enjoy living the life of an isolated hermit in the hills, then the hardest part would be faking a new identity. Stealing an identity isn't terribly difficult as long as you don't try to leave the country with fake ID.
    Well we now know which is the evil twin.
  • HungryJoeHungryJoe
    edited January 2009
    I concur with Nuri, unless you enjoy living the life of an isolated hermit in the hills, then the hardest part would be faking a new identity. Stealing an identity isn't terribly difficult as long as you don't try to leave the country with fake ID.
    These people lived comfortably as fugitives for years.
    Post edited by HungryJoe on
  • ChurbaChurba
    The EU and UK Driver's licenses are absurdly easy to fake. With my old gear back home(read - A good scanner, camera, photoshop, and a thermal sublimation printer) I could run one up in about 20 minutes.
  • AprecheApreche
    The EU and UK Driver's licenses are absurdly easy to fake. With my old gear back home(read - A good scanner, camera, photoshop, and a thermal sublimation printer) I could run one up in about 20 minutes.
    That's good for getting into a bar. It's not good for getting pulled over. When the cop looks you up in the database, and you aren't there, you're fucked. It's also not a passport, which is what you really need. And also, a faked passport doesn't help if the customs officials look you up in the computer. You need to have real documents that are in the computer databases to get away with it.
  • Luke BurrageLuke Burrage
    The only use for him!? you look at your sibling and only see a bag of flesh? Wow. That is harsh.
    I did say "only use for him when he dies". Before he dies I have other uses for him.
  • Kate MonsterKate Monster
    Before he dies I have other uses for him.
    That sounds incredibly sinister.
  • Luke BurrageLuke Burrage
    For example, if I'm sterilized in some bizarre accident, he is the perfect sperm donor.
  • TheWhaleSharkTheWhaleShark
    Before he dies I have other uses for him.
    That sounds incredibly sinister.
    Or sexy. In a very wrong way.
  • NuriNuri
    I concur with Nuri, unless you enjoy living the life of an isolated hermit in the hills, then the hardest part would be faking a new identity. Stealing an identity isn't terribly difficult as long as you don't try to leave the country with fake ID.
    Thesepeoplelived comfortably as fugitives for years.
    Those people also didn't do anything beyond common housewifery, and one of them lived in paranoid fear of being pulled over. While that might be fine for some people, it still puts you in a position of not really being able to do much else with your life.
  • Kate MonsterKate Monster
    Before he dies I have other uses for him.
    That sounds incredibly sinister.
    Or sexy. In a very wrong way.
    Fixed that for you. ^_~
  • ......
    Should we do a show on this? ;^)
    That'd be an interesting show to hear.
    For example, if I'm sterilized in some bizarre accident, he is the perfect sperm donor.
    I wonder, has anyone ever claimed to not be a child's father, and instead blamed his identical twin brother?
    That's good for getting into a bar. It's not good for getting pulled over.
    Don't drive like a moron and you won't get pulled over. Also, he talked about EU/UK drivers licenses. Going from one country to the next is not that difficult. Just don't leave the EU.
  • RymRym
    Don't drive like a moron and you won't get pulled over.
    Here in the states, we're increasingly seeing road checkpoints. They'll go after you if you obviously turn around or choose an alternate path, and they do everything they can to get you for at least one citation.
  • ......
    Here in the states, we're increasingly seeing road checkpoints. They'll go after you if you obviously turn around or choose an alternate path, and they do everything they can to get you for at least one citation.
    Again, Churba spoke about EU driver's licenses. You'll only find road checkpoints when going in a city. They ain't going to hold up the highways and won't bother putting a checkpoint in the middle of nowhere. And even then, these checkpoints are merely routine car inspections.
  • NuriNuri
    edited January 2009
    Don't drive like a moron and you won't get pulled over.
    Here in the states, we're increasingly seeing road checkpoints. They'll go after you if you obviously turn around or choose an alternate path, and they do everything they can to get you for at least one citation.
    Also, not driving like a moron and not breaking the law are not the same thing. In most places around here, it is tough to drive safely while not breaking the law at all for a long period of time. I'm not saying it's impossible...just that, as Scott has pointed out many times, we have a few laws that seem to have no purpose other than to let a cop pull you over legitimately if he needs a reason.
    Post edited by Nuri on
  • JasonJason
    I've never understood road checkpoints. It has always seemed to me that they ignore the idea of probable cause.
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