Indiana Woman Charged for Faking Daughters Death

A Richmond woman who faked the death of her daughter last month in order to have a funeral service for the girl has been formally charged with attempted theft.

Charges were filed Nov. 24 by the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office against Angela J. Boyd, 38, and a warrant was issued for her arrest on a charge of attempted theft (Class D felony). Her bond has been set at $15,000.

Boyd arranged to have a funeral for her 15-year-old daughter at New Life Ministries Church of the Nazarene. She told Pastor Ron Chappell that the girl had been brutally raped and murdered by her father in Iowa and even made a heart-wrenching speech during the service.

The church took a collection during its Nov. 7 service to give to Boyd, and Boyd brought a collection jar marked in memory of her daughter to the Nov. 9 funeral service.

During the service, Boyd's brother, Brian LeMaster, told the congregation that the girl was still alive in Iowa.

Boyd fled the service without getting any money from the church or the jar. She later came to the Richmond Police Department to speak with detectives investigating the incident.

The range for a Class D felony conviction is six months to three years and a $10,000 fine.

Boyd had filed plea agreements in two separate felony theft cases in Wayne County Superior Court II. As a result of Boyd's latest charge, the state on Tuesday withdrew from the plea agreements in both cases. Boyd now faces trial 9 a.m. March 15, 2011, for both cases.

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