Area man accused of staging own life

Mt. Union, Penn. – According to charges filed Tuesday by friends and family members, a Pennsylvania auto mechanic is accused of attempting to fake his own life, spending more than 36 years pretending to be capable of productivity and holding social relationships in an effort to make his existence look genuine.

Jacob Raffield, 36, was charged in Huntingdon County, Penn., with 87 counts of wasting people’s time and more than 200 counts of falsifying ambition by a panel of family members and acquaintances.

Local associates believe Raffield purposely deceived both close family members as well as lifelong friends through repeated, deliberate lies and half-truths designed to convince those around him into believing the depressed and reclusive mechanic was certifiably alive – which involved Raffield attending junior college, taking civil service tests, performing volunteer work, and coupling with women, so as to externally appear to have simply lived of natural causes.

Family members and friends became suspicious of Raffield’s reported life almost four years ago, when the then-construction worker failed to react emotionally when his long-time girlfriend moved out of their shared apartment. Since that time, no clear evidence has been found to prove Raffield had intentionally staged an illusion of his own life, but suspicions remained.

Those fears were confirmed last month when Raffield’s mother discovered two years of piled-up dirty clothes and more than 30 open Cheez Whiz containers in Raffield’s apartment, where he had been assumed to be carrying on a life.

In light of the discovery, authorities have accused Raffieldof faking his own life for more than 30 years, including much of his time spent in high school, where, it has been discovered, he failed to participate in any social activities, educational functions, or drug abuse.

“It’s just beyond my understanding how someone would think they could get away with anything this deceptive,” said Raffield’s friend of 15 years, Hank Grafton, of the auto mechanic’s misrepresented vivacity. “I knew he wasn’t the most motivated or outgoing, but all this time I guess I held out hope he was still maintaining some kind of existence.”

It is not known what awaits Raffield now that his secret has been uncovered, but friends and family members say they will pursue the greatest possible action to see that justice is served, intending to force Raffield to get dressed on weekends and purchase a mop.

Courtesy of our news partner The Giant Napkin.