A Georgia man who police said faked his own death in 2015 to avoid attempted murder charges has been arrested in Oklahoma.
According to KFOR, Christopher Tomberlin was apprehended Thursday by the U.S. Marshals Service Metro Fugitive Task Force and officers from the Oklahoma City Police Department’s Violent Crimes Apprehension Team.
The arrest comes six years after Tomberlin was accused of attempting to murder his then-girlfriend in Bibb County, Georgia during a November 2015 incident. As reported by The Macon Telegraph at the time, Tomberlin allegedly threatened to kill the woman before throwing a hatchet at her. The hatchet missed the woman and was lodged in a door inside the couple’s home.
Facing charges of aggravated assault, battery and terroristic threats, Tomberlin faked his own death and went on the lam. Tomberlin was believed to be dead for the past six years, but new information indicated that he was alive and living in Oklahoma.
“Analysts from our Criminal Intelligence Unit worked diligently, and were able to piece together Tomberlin’s latest steps, leading officers to the area of SW 77th and Douglas where today, he was taken into custody without incident,” the Oklahoma City Police Department said in a statement on Thursday.
Tomberlin isn’t the first person to get arrested this year after faking a death to avoid prosecution.
In April, a West Virginia woman was handed an additional 12 months federal prison sentence for faking her own death to avoid sentencing for health care fraud.
