Jury Convicts MD Man of Faking Own Death

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) - A federal jury has convicted a Maryland man accused of conspiracy by faking his own death.

Larry Deffenbaugh also was found guilty Thursday of communicating a false distress signal to the Coast Guard during his retrial. A previous jury had deadlocked on whether to convict him on that charge.

Prosecutors say Deffenbaugh faked his death by jumping into the Chesapeake Bay from a rented fishing boat in 2009. His disappearance came two days before he was scheduled to appear at a hearing on a probation violation in Calvert County, Md.

The TV show "America's Most Wanted" broadcast a segment about Deffenbaugh that led to his arrest last year in Baytown, Texas.

from WTOP