Buzz
Few occurrences are as astonishing as someone presumed dead turning out to be alive. Such errors can stem from various causes. Some individuals intentionally fake their deaths to begin anew, while others vanish, only to be shocked later by rumors of their demise. Incredibly, there are instances where innocent people were accused of murdering someone who was, in fact, still alive.
10. John Cameron
In May 1872, William Jackson Marion and John Cameron traveled to Gage County, Nebraska, to visit Marion’s in-laws. Marion paid a small deposit for Cameron’s horses before they departed to seek railroad work. Days later, Marion returned alone with Cameron’s horses, stating Cameron had left on his own. Shortly after, a decomposed body was found on an Indian reservation, shot three times in the head and dressed in what was thought to be Cameron’s clothes. Marion was suspected of murdering Cameron to steal his horses, but it took a decade to locate him.
In 1882, Marion was discovered in a Kansas jail serving time for another offense and was charged with Cameron’s murder. Convicted and sentenced to death in his first trial, his verdict was overturned on appeal. A second trial also resulted in a guilty verdict and death sentence. Despite maintaining his innocence, Marion was hanged on March 25, 1887.
Four years later, to widespread astonishment, John Cameron was found alive and well in Kansas. He revealed he had fled to Mexico to avoid a forced marriage and allowed Marion to keep his horses. On the centennial of Marion’s execution for a crime that never occurred, Nebraska’s governor issued him a posthumous pardon.
9. Steven Chin Leung
Nearly 3,000 individuals perished in the World Trade Center attacks on September 11, 2001, but surprisingly, at least one person exploited this tragedy to fake their death. Earlier that year, Steven Chin Leung was arrested in New York City for federal fraud in Hawaii, where he tried to obtain a U.S. passport using a counterfeit Social Security number. Released on bond, Leung was set for a hearing at Manhattan’s Federal District Court. After September 11, his lawyer received a call from someone claiming to be Leung’s brother, sharing a shocking tale.
The caller alleged that Leung worked as a consultant for Cantor Fitzgerald and was at their World Trade Center office on the morning of September 11. The firm’s headquarters were obliterated, and they lost over two-thirds of their employees.
An investigation revealed that Leung’s “brother” was actually Leung himself. He even posed as his brother in a letter to the city, attempting to secure his own death certificate. In February 2002, Leung was arrested while collecting his mail at a Manhattan mailbox outlet. Had he faced trial for the original fraud charge, he might have received probation. However, his heartless exploitation of a national tragedy earned him a four-year prison sentence.
8. Lula Cora Hood
Lula Cora Hood struggled with severe mental health challenges throughout her life. By her forties, she had given birth to 14 children, all placed for adoption due to her inability to care for them. In 1970, Cora resided in East Galesburg, Illinois, and often visited four of her children, who had been adopted by her sister.
In August of that year, Cora vanished after a family dispute. Known for disappearing for extended periods and traveling across the country, no missing person report was filed, but she never returned. On May 5, 1996, the skeletal remains of an unidentified woman were found in an abandoned brickyard in East Galesburg. One of Cora’s children contacted authorities, suspecting the remains might belong to her mother. Investigators deemed this plausible and tentatively closed the case.
However, in 2011, years after Cora’s family submitted DNA samples, they were shocked to learn the remains did not match. Remarkably, weeks after this revelation, Lula Cora Hood was found alive in Jacksonville, Florida, at age 84. Though she no longer remembered her children, they eventually reunited. In 2013, the remains were identified as Helen “Ruth” Alps, another missing woman.
7. George William Wandyaka
In 1981, Edward Edmary Mpagi, a well-known resident of Kyamabaale, Uganda, saw his life unravel on June 12 when he and his cousin, Fred Masembe, were arrested for the alleged robbery and murder of their neighbor, George William Wandyaka. A year later, both were sentenced to death. During the trial, Mpagi claimed to have seen Wandyaka, the supposed victim, standing in the courtroom. Masembe died on death row four years later, but Mpagi’s family, suspecting foul play, launched an investigation.
Over the next decade, Wandyaka was reportedly seen multiple times in Uganda, and in 1989, it was confirmed he was alive. Wandyaka’s parents, harboring a grudge against Mpagi’s family, had staged their son’s death and framed Mpagi for murder. They allegedly bribed a doctor to falsely testify that he had conducted a post-mortem on Wandyaka’s body, securing the conviction.
Despite evidence proving Wandyaka was alive, the courts refused to acknowledge their error. Mpagi remained on death row for 11 more years until Uganda’s president granted him a full pardon.
6. Bill Henry
It’s not unusual for famous individuals to stumble upon their own obituaries due to false death rumors. However, the tale of former Major League Baseball pitcher Bill Henry is particularly strange. Henry began his career as a relief pitcher in 1952, playing for six teams before retiring in 1969. In September 2007, just two months shy of his 80th birthday, his wife received a startling call at home. A baseball historian called to express condolences for her husband’s death—while Henry was sitting beside her.
Another man named Bill Henry had died of a heart attack in Lakeland, Florida, the previous month, and his obituary falsely identified him as the former MLB pitcher. This wasn’t a simple mix-up. The Florida Bill Henry had spent years claiming he was the MLB pitcher, and due to their similar appearances, people believed him. With most of his family deceased, no one could refute his story, not even his third wife of 19 years. After the Associated Press published the obituary, the real Bill Henry had to publicly confirm he was still alive.
5. Gandaruban Subramanium
In 1987, Gandaruban Subramanium, a husband and father of three in Singapore, operated a struggling car rental business. To escape creditors, he fled to Sri Lanka with his brother’s help, securing a fake death certificate claiming he died in a shootout during the civil war. After being declared legally dead, his wife, Renuga Devi Sinnadurry, collected $246,000 in life insurance.
Gandaruban began a new life in Sri Lanka but stayed in touch with his family, who often visited him. In 1994, he obtained a fake passport to return to Singapore and remarried his wife under a different identity, making her the unique case of marrying the same man twice under separate identities. They later had a fourth child but eventually divorced.
Gandaruban’s wife and brother were jailed for aiding his death fraud. In October 2007, he tried to re-enter Singapore illegally and was caught. Convicted of insurance fraud, he was sentenced to three years in prison.
4. Jenny Wilson
In 1908, Bill Wilson, a farmer in Blount County, Alabama, faced a divorce request from his wife, Jenny. Soon after, Jenny vanished with their 19-month-old daughter. Four years later, skeletal remains of an adult woman and a child were discovered near the Black Warrior River, close to property owned by Bill’s father. Jim House, a former farmhand, spread rumors that the remains were Jenny and her daughter, accusing Bill of murdering them after the divorce request and burying the evidence.
Bill was charged with murder and stood trial. Evidence suggested the remains were not Jenny and her child, as experts testified the bones were over a decade old and likely part of an ancient Indian burial. Additionally, the child’s remains had permanent teeth, which their daughter was too young to have. Despite this, Bill was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life. He served over two years until Jenny and her daughter, now 11, were found alive in Vincennes, Indiana, living with a new family. After Jenny returned to confirm her survival, Bill was pardoned and released.
3. Connie Franklin
In January 1929, Connie Franklin, a 22-year-old wanderer, arrived in St. James, Arkansas, and soon began a relationship with Tillar Ruminar, a local 17-year-old. In March, he vanished abruptly. Months later, Tillar claimed they were attacked by five locals who raped her and tortured Connie before burning him alive. Teeth, bone fragments, and a bloody hat believed to be Connie’s were found in a fire pit, leading to murder charges against the five men.
The case took a shocking turn when a man claiming to be Connie Franklin was discovered working on a nearby farm. He revealed he had left St. James after Tillar rejected his marriage proposal. Further investigation uncovered that “Connie Franklin” was actually Marion Franklin Rogers, who had escaped a mental hospital in 1926 after being committed and had been on the run since.
Connie Franklin, aka Marion Franklin Rogers, was called to testify at his own murder trial. Despite Tillar and others denying his identity, overwhelming evidence proved they were the same person. The jury concluded Connie was never murdered, leading to the acquittal of the five defendants.
2. Lucy Johnson
In 1961, Lucy Johnson, a 26-year-old living in Surrey, British Columbia, with her husband Marvin and two children, vanished mysteriously. Her last confirmed sighting was in September, witnessed by a neighbor. Marvin waited until 1965 to report her disappearance, raising police suspicions. Despite extensive questioning and backyard excavations, no evidence linked Marvin to Lucy’s disappearance.
Marvin died in the 1990s, and the case went cold until June 2013. Despite Lucy being presumed dead, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police featured her case in their “missing of the month” series, seeking public help. Surprisingly, they received a tip from a woman in Whitehorse, Yukon, claiming Lucy was her mother.
Lucy had fled to Yukon in 1961, starting a new family without revealing her past. After being missing for over 50 years, she was confirmed alive at 77. Lucy explained her abusive, unfaithful husband had forced her out without informing their children.
1. Mike “Corporal” Kirchner
The demanding life of a professional wrestler often leads to physical strain and drug abuse, resulting in premature deaths. On October 15, 2006, the World Wrestling Entertainment website announced the death of former wrestler Corporal Kirchner at 49, adding to the list of tragic losses in the industry.
By 2006, Kirchner had retired from wrestling and was working as a truck driver when he discovered he had been declared dead. While on the road, his mother called him, alarmed by people contacting her after reading his obituary on the WWE website. The confusion deepened as the site mistakenly listed his real name as “Thomas Spear.” A man named Thomas Spear had indeed died in White Marsh, Maryland, on the same day, but no connection between the two was ever found, leaving the mix-up unexplained.
