North Carolina woman accused of faking her own murder after anonymously filing a complaint with a friend
- Margaret Frances Elizabeth Sweeney, 37, of Franklin, NC, was arrested
- She is accused of anonymously reporting her own murder to the police through a friend
- Sweeney was reported missing on August 18 but was safely located the next day
A North Carolina woman has been accused of faking her own murder after anonymously reporting her disappearance to police and her boyfriend.
Margaret Frances Elizabeth Sweeney, 37, of Franklin in the west of the state, was arrested by local police on Monday.
She is known to her friends as Maggie. She is accused of phoning a police station, causing a hoax about death or serious injury, and obstructing police officers.
She was reported missing last Friday, August 18, and officers with the Franklin Police Department launched an immediate investigation as information indicated she was vulnerable or dead.
But Sweeney could be found safely in the next town the next day, police said.
Margaret Frances Elizabeth Sweeney, 37, of Franklin, North Carolina, was arrested by local police Monday.
Sweeney was reported missing last Friday, August 18, and officers with the Franklin Police Department launched an immediate investigation as information indicated she was vulnerable or dead
Sergeant Randy Dula continued the investigation and was able to determine that Sweeney had allegedly passed anonymous third-party false reports to a friend that she had been murdered.
“Sweeney’s actions have caused our and other departments many hours of work that could have been devoted to other matters,” FPD said.
“Family, friends and the wider community were also deeply concerned and concerned for Sweeney’s wellbeing.”
Sweeney was described in her police report as being 1.75m tall – and police have not given any details as to what her motivation may have been.
She lives in a $145,900 house on Scuffie Drive in north Franklin.
She faces charges similar to those of Carlee Russell, who famously faked her own kidnapping and could now spend two years behind bars.
Spa therapist Russell, 25, said she was kidnapped after allegedly missing 49 hours from her home in Hoover, Alabama, on July 13.
The story of her disappearance went viral on TikTok and other social media platforms.
Carlee Russell grinned in her mugshot last month after she was arrested for faking her own kidnapping
After Russell “disappeared” on July 13, her ex-boyfriend Thomar Simmons (pictured together) had taken to social media desperately for information and then posted a supportive post when Russell returned home. He has now spoken out and said he was “disgusted” by her dizziness
On July 24, she admitted to making up the story.
She has been charged with two counts of false reporting and now faces up to two years in prison and a $12,000 fine.
Russell was released from jail on July 28 after posting $2,000 bail and was seen grinning in her mug shot.