Two people are charged in connection with a bogus obituary. Thirty-six-year-old James Snyder was arrested Monday, along with his girlfriend, 33-year-old Mary Jo Jensen. Snyder and Jensen, both of Waterloo, are accused of falsely reporting the death of Jensen’s son, 17-year-old Daniel Reddout, who presumably died in December. Officials allege that Snyder dropped off Reddout’s obituary notice to the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier.
The newspaper published the false death notice on December 30th, believing it was real. Officials became suspicious of the potential crime a few days later when the presumably dead teenager was spotted at a local restaurant. Snyder is charged with tampering with records. Jensen is facing an accessory charge. Police believe the couple fabricated Reddout’s death in order to take time off work.