Crime and Courts

North Carolina woman arrested after allegedly faking her own murder, police say

The arrest warrant says police spent a total of 75 hours searching for Margaret Frances Elizabeth Sweeney and investigating the case

A self photo of Margaret Frances Elizabeth Sweeney.
Franklin Police Department

A North Carolina woman was arrested Monday after allegedly faking her own murder, police said.

Margaret Frances Elizabeth Sweeney, who also goes by Maggie, 37, allegedly "made anonymous third-party false reports" to both a friend and the Department of Social Services last Friday, claiming she had been murdered, the Franklin Police Department said in a Facebook post.

According to the arrest warrant obtained by NBC News, Sweeney used an app to conceal her identity and send text messages to the friend and DSS agent claiming she had been beaten to death with a tire iron.

Officers found Sweeney on Saturday in a nearby town, and arrested her two days later, according to the Facebook post, which condemned her alleged actions for distracting police from other duties.

For more on this story, go to NBC News.

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