3 defendants in registered sex offender suicide hoax

Insets from left: Breanna Watkins, Matthew Hunt and Richard Newlen (Jefferson County Sheriff). Background: Divers search for Newlen (WTOV) in a lake in Ohio.

Three people in Ohio are accused of faking the suicide of a registered sex offender by claiming to have seen him fall into a lake in a fiasco that strained resources from multiple law enforcement agencies and required the use of three dive teams in the fake search made.

Breanna Watkins, 28, and Matthew Hunt, 43, are charged with scaremongering, false alarms, obstruction of justice and forgery. The man they allegedly tried to kill himself is Richard Newlen, 40, a registered sex offender. Online court records show he faces charges of tampering with evidence, inciting panic and making a false alarm.

The case came to light on Aug. 25 when Watkins and Hunt claimed Newlen fell into the lake at Friendship Park in Steubenville, officials said. Newlen even left the couple a suicide note to give to police, the Herald-Star reported.

Searchers included emergency medical services, firefighters, police and sheriff's deputies from multiple departments and counties who were dispatched to find the man. Diving teams donned their suits and combed the water but did not find Newlen. Then authorities realized it was a hoax as Newlen remained on the run.

“A 911 call was made and the subject reported that someone had gone into the lake with a fishing rod, dove in and did not resurface,” Jefferson County Sheriff Fred Abdalla told local NBC and Fox at the time. Daughter WTOV. “At this point, emergency responders responded to the scene and began rescue and recovery efforts.”

“As the day went on and we started to gather some information, we started to wonder whether or not someone had actually gone into the lake,” Abdalla continued. “We are putting men and women at risk of entering this water. We've wasted a ton of time and effort away from our families, all on a bunch of crap. Mr. Newlin should turn himself in immediately, but I am completely disgusted because, as I said, we are putting people's lives at risk when we go looking for someone. We sat there looking in this heat yesterday afternoon. Went through three dive teams and for what as these witnesses to this alleged drowning sat there watching us.”

Newlen was arrested a few days after the search. He is a registered sex offender stemming from a 2013 conviction for gross sexual molestation of a victim under the age of 13 and unlawful use of a minor in nude depictions or performances, WTOV reported, citing authorities. The reason for the alleged hoax was because he missed a deadline to report his location to authorities, as he is required to do every six months, the Herald-Star reported.

The defendants are scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday, online court records show.

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3 defendants in registered sex offender suicide hoax

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3 defendants in registered sex offender suicide hoax

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