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A man from Mississippi is now included in the US Marshals 15 Most Wanted escapees list. This was made after the man faked his death to skip prosecution for a rape case. The victim was his 14-year-old stepdaughter. 

Where could he be Hiding?

Authorities think that 43-year-old Jacob Blair Scott may be surviving in the outside world due to his military training background. 

A $25,000 reward is up for grabs for those who can provide relevant information that will lead to the discovery of the whereabouts of Scott. 

Scott was from Moss Point. He was prosecuted in Jackson County for 14 criminal cases. 

Some of the criminal cases charged against this man from Mississippi are touching a minor for lustful reasons, sexual battery, and child exploitation.

According to Carlos Cosby, the Supervisory Deputy Inspector, the need to find and prosecute Scott is their duty to provide justice for his victim and her family.

"This is a horrific act that she shouldn't have to go through and he should be brought to justice for this," said Cosby.

Still, out on bond, the man from Mississippi did not attend a court hearing in July 2018, stated by the authorities. They had also located the boat of Scott on the coast of Alabama in Orange Beach.

In the abandoned boat, the investigators on the case found a gun and a suicide note. There was no sufficient evidence to support suicide by Scott. 

The authorities searched through the Gulf of Mexico for Scott's dead body, but it was never found.

Later on, it was discovered by the investigators that before the disappearance of Scott, he was able to withdraw money amounting to $45,000 from his bank savings. The amount has not been recovered.

Is it Legal to Fake One's Death?

In an article by mentalfloss, Pseudocide or faking one's death is not directly illegal. This more or less means that it is legal to fake your death. However, don't get too excited to start a new identity because faking your death may indirectly violate some laws.

As stated above, to fake one's death is not directly a crime. However, doing so may result in the violation of some rules of the state. 

Some reasons why people fake their death is for insurance claims, avoid loan payment, and in the case of Mississippi's Scott, avoidance of prosecution for a crime. 

Other crimes that may arise after faking one's death include tax evasion, death certificate forgery, and filing falsified police reports. 

Despite the absence of a law that prohibits faking death, people who want a new identity cannot do so legally in the United States of America.

Another Case Like Scott's

An article from Insider, dated July 24, 2019, had also reported a man faking his death to escape from prosecution for a staggering 24 rape cases. 

Ken Gordon-Avis had faked his death by showing that he lost his life from drowning. His body was never recovered by the police after a thorough search using a helicopter, divers, and drones.

After the search team's failure to locate the body of Gordon-Avis, the police concluded that he too, faked his death.