# Why break up when you can fake your own death? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 13, 2004, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-break-up-when-you-can-fake-your-own-death/254898 "2004-07-13T14:53:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2004, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-break-up-when-you-can-fake-your-own-death/254898/21 "2004-07-14T22:49:57Z")
> [@](#): > > But my goodness – even I had to admit that I had never known anyone to fake a death rather than simply break up. I tried it, but it doesn’t work. You can lay there fooling everyone, but when the EMTs break out the defibrillator and the paddles, you’ve got some 'splaining to do. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2004, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-break-up-when-you-can-fake-your-own-death/254898/22 "2004-07-15T07:54:59Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > As for faking your death online…I agree you have to be pretty messed up to do that. I had a “friend” who faked his death online back in 1997 and there are people who _still_ think he’s dead. He said he got AIDS and shot himself and then he put up memorial pages to himself…etc. I happen to know he’s not dead because we lived and worked together most of 2003/2004 (except he didn’t pay rent, one of the reasons I put “friend” in quotation marks.) Just wondering… —Did he tell you this himself, or did you hear it from someone else (maybe someone you were venting to after your “friendship” came to an end)? —If he told you himself, how does someone segue into confessing that? Was it like, you were sharing anecdotes? “I tripped for three days once” — “I drove across the country in a '57 Chevy!” — “I faked my death online! Man, I gotta tell you this one…” —Did he tell you what motivated him to do this? Did he regret it at all (probably not; if he skived on the rent **and** did this, he’s probably just a habitual user of people)? What kind of reactions did he get? To the death, I meant, but as far as that goes, does anyone besides you know it was a scam? ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2004, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-break-up-when-you-can-fake-your-own-death/254898/23 "2004-07-17T14:06:59Z")
I know \*someone who had a long distance relationship (different coasts). He was talking to this gal who had told him how she had been brutally beaten up on a recent trip to Germany. Some guy (or guys) had followed her from a train to her motel, etc. She then went on to tell him that he should break up with her because she was damaged goods (from the rape and beating). She then started ignoring his phone calls and messages. Finally, she did respond, telling him that again that it was best to leave her behind, and get on with his life. He wasn’t able to verify it with any local reports, but I don’t know how publicly available crime reports are in Germany. I can’t say that it was definitely faked, but it sounded fishy. However, my friend’s state of mind was not particularly rational at the time, so I just nodded and empathized. \*Yeah, it was someone _else_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-break-up-when-you-can-fake-your-own-death/254898.md?page=1)