Some people will go to any lengths to avoid being prosecuted for a crime they committed. Some will get away with it, some won’t. Here’s the story of a guy who tried to pull one over on law enforcement – and was almost successful. Fortunately, the police were able to uncover his scheme and reinstate the charges against him.
Nanaimo man faked his death to flee from charges, police say
‘Dead’ suspect is found in Halifax
Danielle Bell & Paul Walton, Daily News – September 25, 2008
A former Nanaimo man, alleged to have faked his own death in 2004 to escape sex assault charges, was very much alive in provincial court on Wednesday to face renewed charges on the same 2003 allegation.
Jeremy Daniel Oakley, 36, was arrested in Halifax in August and returned to Nanaimo this week to appear in provincial court charged with one count of sexual interference with a person under 16 and one count of sexual assault.
He returns to court in Nanaimo on Oct. 7, and remains in custody at the Vancouver Island Regional Correctional Centre in Victoria.
An obituary in the Halifax Chronicle-Herald on Oct. 7, 2004, said Oakley “passed away suddenly in Toronto as a result of a motor vehicle accident. He is survived by his wife and four children. A resident of British Columbia, Jeremy had only resided in Nova Scotia for a short time. At the request of the family, funeral service will be held in Vancouver, B.C., at a date yet to be determined. He will be sadly missed.”
It stated that the fatal accident happened in Toronto on Oct. 2. Records at the Nanaimo court registry indicate that the initial charges against Oakley were stayed by the Crown on Nov. 24, 2004.
Const. Gary O’Brien, spokesman for the Nanaimo RCMP, said information that Oakley was alive first emerged in August this year.
