Unlike actual suicide, it's really easy to change your mind about fake suicide, which can be both a plus and a minus. It's a minus if your goal is to evade the law, as in the case of the Indiana businessman Marcus Schrenker, who faked his death in a plane crash.
WaPo: Schrenker had been missing since Sunday, when he flew from Anderson, Ind., bound for Destin, Fla. Southwest of Birmingham, Ala., he radioed that his plane's windshield had imploded and that his face was covered with blood.
Authorities said they think Schrenker then bailed out of the Piper Turboprop, parachuting to the ground and speeding away on a motorcycle he had stashed away in the pine barrens of central Alabama. Military jets tried to intercept the plane and found the door open, the cockpit dark. The plane crashed in the Florida Panhandle after traveling more than 200 miles on autopilot.
Authorities suspect Schrenker, president of a wealth management company, was trying to escape legal and financial troubles, including allegations of fraud. Schrenker's wife also had filed for divorce, alleging that he was having an affair.
Schrenker had sent some emails from the campground -- a pretty clear indication that the suicide was faked.
In other fake suicide news, the (ex?) girlfriend of hedge fund fraudster Sam Israel is due to appear in court today on charges of abetting his attempt to evade authorities.
Is Bernie Madoff under fake suicide watch?