Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, August 4, 1994 TAG: 9408040082
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: SPOTSYLVANIA LENGTH: Medium
Lt. David Cooper of the sheriff's office said Brenda G. Holmes has been trying to throw police off her trail in recent weeks by spreading the word that she is dead.
``She's been really getting around a lot lately for a dead woman,'' Cooper said. ``She's been seen or heard from several times since her supposed death.''
Cooper said a woman claiming to be one of Holmes' relatives called him July 22 and said Holmes, distraught over her legal problems, had committed suicide at her home in Columbia, S.C.
A few days later, an obituary for Holmes appeared in The Free Lance-Star of Fredericksburg.
After Cooper told the newspaper he believed the obituary was a hoax, it was learned that the funeral home listed in the article did not exist. Attempts to reach survivors at telephone numbers left by a caller also were unsuccessful. The newspaper reported Wednesday that it did not follow usual procedures in checking on the obituary before it appeared.
Cooper said the medical examiner's office in Columbia told him there were no suicides on the day Holmes supposedly died. Her relatives also told Cooper the death was a fake.
Cooper believes the woman has left the state.
Holmes is accused of obtaining loans from banks and finance companies by using a phony driver's license she obtained in her sister's name. Cooper said Holmes also bought a car in her sister's name from a Charlottesville dealership and forged a number of checks.
She is charged with 13 counts of fraud and one felony count of writing a bad check.
Cooper said Holmes was arrested June 27 and was released on bond. She has since failed to appear for three scheduled court appearances, according to court records.
by CNB