# My evil, murdering twin **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 15, 2003, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-evil-murdering-twin/207664 "2003-10-15T23:06:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2003, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-evil-murdering-twin/207664/1 "2003-10-15T23:06:05Z")
This is one of those surreal things that happens occasionally in one’s life. I turned on the news the other night in the middle of a story about a local murder of a young woman. A sad and lonely death in the stairwell of condo. The announcer was just reporting that the murderer had been arrested, but all I heard was the last part of his name. A chill ran up my spine as I heard: “…efguy was arrested and charged with the murder of (the victim). Mr. Chefguy is a registered sex offender on the State’s sex offender website.” Turns out that this guy’s name is very similar to mine; in fact, his last name is pronounced exactly like mine, but spelled slightly differently, and his first name is very similar to mine. For example, his name is Merle Chefgye, and mine is Earl Chefguy. Visions of SWAT teams rappelling off my roof flashed through my mind. Mistakes of a tragic magnitude have been made in the past by overzealous cops. Even though the guy is now under arrest, I’m still nervous about it. So the phone rings. Disembodied voice: “murdering motherfucker”. Click. Rings again, a friend this time: “Man, is that _you_ on the news?” “Er, no, shit-for-brains, if that was me, I would have somehow regressed to age 30, changed my name, and…oh yeah…somehow have escaped from jail and returned to my house so I could answer your stupid question.” I’m wondering who else on the Board has had a case or near case of mistaken identity. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2003, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-evil-murdering-twin/207664/2 "2003-10-15T23:10:39Z")
“Is that me over there?” ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2003, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-evil-murdering-twin/207664/3 "2003-10-15T23:13:23Z")
“Um, excuse me” “Yes?” “Are you me?” “No, you’re you” “oh” [sub]Sorry for the little hijack chefguy[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![libwen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/76d3ee/32.png) [@libwen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/libwen)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2003, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-evil-murdering-twin/207664/4 "2003-10-15T23:18:40Z")
Mine is nowhere near as serious as yours. I have the same name as a semi-well-known writer. As a teenager, we had AOL in the house; sometimes I had my full name in the name section (I know, I was really bright, there). I also had my age posted. At _least_ once a month, some fan of hers would email me, asking, “Are you _the_ **libwen**?” Yeah, the middle-aged British writer is pretending to be a teenager from Kalamazoo. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2003, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-evil-murdering-twin/207664/5 "2003-10-16T00:17:49Z")
A former coworker of mine had the same name as a woman who, not far away, barricaded herself in her house and it took the cops to pry her out. I think shots had been involved but the poor woman was more delusional than criminal. She also was the same age and also in a very similar profession to my coworker. So much so that a good friend of the coworker, in another town, on hearing of the ongoing incident, called the police and offered to talk to the barricaded woman, mistaking her for their friend. Very weird to have two such alike sounding people quite close together. ---
**Author:** ![AK-Dave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7cd45c/32.png) [@AK-Dave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK-Dave)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2003, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-evil-murdering-twin/207664/6 "2003-10-16T00:29:13Z")
I work across the hallway from the Anchorage trooper dispatch center. One day I walked in to steal candy from the candy dish in dispatch and they all looked at me and said “OMG! The cops are looking for you out in Wasilla!” Turns out some kid about my age with the EXACT same name, including middle initial, had just robbed a grocery store. They knew it wasn’t me, since it would have taken too long for me to get to work, but they joked about it for a few days. ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2003, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-evil-murdering-twin/207664/7 "2003-10-16T00:46:02Z")
When I was a sophomore in high school, there was another girl who had the same first name as me, and her last name was almost identical as well - for privacy purposes, let’s say my name was Mary 12345, hers was Mary 23451. We were frequently confused for one another to the point that we got one another’s report cards once. Toward the end of the school year, she was murdered, and many people (for a few minutes, including my MOTHER) thought it was me. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2003, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-evil-murdering-twin/207664/8 "2003-10-16T02:00:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by AK-Dave \* > \*\*I work across the hallway from the Anchorage trooper dispatch center. One day I walked in to steal candy from the candy dish in dispatch and they all looked at me and said “OMG! The cops are looking for you out in Wasilla!” > Turns out some kid about my age with the EXACT same name, including middle initial, had just robbed a grocery store. They knew it wasn’t me, since it would have taken too long for me to get to work, but they joked about it for a few days. \*\* Hey, welcome fellow Alaskan Doper! You, of course, know exactly who I’m talking about in my thread. I think I work catty-corner from you on Tudor. ---
**Author:** ![Oy\_Vey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dbc845/32.png) [@Oy\_Vey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy_Vey)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2003, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-evil-murdering-twin/207664/9 "2003-10-16T02:11:30Z")
I’ve googled myself in the past and I’m a peruvian boxer as well as a hawaiian that was killed by his ex-girlfriend’s father in self defense… ---
**Author:** ![sleeping](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/839c29/32.png) [@sleeping](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleeping)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2003, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-evil-murdering-twin/207664/10 "2003-10-16T02:37:09Z")
[Here’s](http://www.nypost.com/news/worldnews/6733.htm) something that’s kinda funny. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2003, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-evil-murdering-twin/207664/11 "2003-10-16T02:57:50Z")
Are you Sarah Connor? ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2003, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-evil-murdering-twin/207664/12 "2003-10-16T08:03:05Z")
Not the name but the face. When I was 11, I was visiting my sister in some wide-place-in-the-road town in eastern Pennsylvania. One day, the owner of the corner store refused to serve me, saying, “I told you never to come in my store again.” Turned out, he’d caught some other girl shoplifting a day or two earlier, who he claimed looked like me. My sister and I still love to tell this story, not because of any lingering resentment, but because of what we consider the storekeeper’s folly. “He says, ‘Well, she looked like you.’ What did I look like? I looked like a **kid**!” Although, curiously, the encounter actually made me more sure of myself when challenged by authority, rather than less. After that, I didn’t cow to anyone unless they made it clear they meant business. “What’s that sign say?” is a question, not an edict. Years later, when I had just turned 21, I was at a school dance in a hotel. I visited the bar halfway through (the dance itself was alcohol-free), and was told by a chaperone, “You know, this school has a policy regarding underage drinking.” “Great! If I see an underage person drinking, I’ll tell them that!” ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2003, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-evil-murdering-twin/207664/13 "2003-10-16T08:05:02Z")
Also, **Chefguy** , I’m sorry to hear about that first phone call. Although, I must say that was a pretty dumb would-be harrasser. Same thing you told your friend: if you’re that guy, you’re not at home to answer your phone! **LifeOnWry** , how did your mom think you were the murder victim? Did the cops call her instead of the other girl’s parents? ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2003, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-evil-murdering-twin/207664/14 "2003-10-16T13:38:11Z")
As it happened, **Rilchiam** , the girl’s body was found, and her parents informed while I was spending the night at another friend’s house. It was on the news (which my mother did not see) and a well-meaning friend called my mom to offer condolences. ---
**Author:** ![AK-Dave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7cd45c/32.png) [@AK-Dave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK-Dave)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2003, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-evil-murdering-twin/207664/15 "2003-10-16T15:15:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Chefguy \* > \*\*Hey, welcome fellow Alaskan Doper! You, of course, know exactly who I’m talking about in my thread. I think I work catty-corner from you on Tudor. \*\* Trooper dispatch is actually located in the National Guard Armory on Ft Richardson. It used to be located at trooper HQ on Tudor. It was moved so it could be co-located with the State Emergency Coordination Center and the Rescue Coordinatin Center. This was supposed to facilitate coordination during emergencies, but it only really helped during the Miller’s Reach fire. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2003, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-evil-murdering-twin/207664/16 "2003-10-16T16:42:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by AK-Dave \* > \*\*Trooper dispatch is actually located in the National Guard Armory on Ft Richardson. It used to be located at trooper HQ on Tudor. It was moved so it could be co-located with the State Emergency Coordination Center and the Rescue Coordinatin Center. This was supposed to facilitate coordination during emergencies, but it only really helped during the Miller’s Reach fire. \*\* I think I know the building. I took the disaster response training out there a few years back. ---
**Author:** ![Ultraviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/c77e96/32.png) [@Ultraviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ultraviolet)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2003, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-evil-murdering-twin/207664/17 "2003-10-16T17:36:34Z")
My first name is uncommon enough that I’ve never had anything like this happen. My brother, however, occassionaly gets harassing calls from collection agencies looking for the deadbeat who has his exact name. Sometimes it takes a lot of convincing that he is in fact, someone else. ---
**Author:** ![DogMom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9c0ed/32.png) [@DogMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DogMom)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2003, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-evil-murdering-twin/207664/18 "2003-10-16T18:49:38Z")
I’ve had to have the phone changed to DogDad’s name, because I kept getting harassing calls from bill-collectors, the local hospital, a couple of catalog order houses, and so forth, for non-payment of outstanding bills (for over $30,000). Same first name. Same last name. Different SSN, thank goodness. I even got **her** W-2 last year. (Sent it back with an explanation). THEN I found out from a co-worker that my doppleganger was thrown in the state penitentiary for: check kiting, forgery, and half a dozen other things. Interesting feeling, having people at work wonder why I’m still there when I’m “supposed to be” in jail. ---
**Author:** ![Nuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea666f/32.png) [@Nuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nuke)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2003, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-evil-murdering-twin/207664/19 "2003-10-16T18:56:26Z")
There’s another guy in Omaha with the exact same name as me. He’s a pediatrician. I regularly get calls from anxious parents at night who are somewhat disappointed that they’ve gotten a nuclear engineer instead of a pediatrician. “Sorry, not too much I can do about that cough; like some spent fuel in your backyard?” 😃