Cops: Guy Steals Hearse to Frame an Enemy

It's the weirdest story about a stolen hearse you'll ever hear. Police in Buffalo say 28-year-old Michael Healing stole an empty hearse from outside a church last week as part of a crazy scheme to frame his drug dealer, reports the Buffalo News. Healing had allegedly stolen $11,000 from the dealer and was under pressure to pay up. His scheme was to steal the hearse, park it, tell the dealer the money was inside, assume the dealer would steal the hearse, and then inform police that the dealer had stolen the hearse and was driving around with it.

Somehow, this plan did not work. The hearse has been recovered, and Healing is behind bars on charges of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and criminal possession of stolen property. There's another layer to the story as well—prior to the hearse theft, the dealer allegedly kidnapped Healing and stole his mother's car as collateral. In fact, this is apparently what prompted Healing to concoct the brilliant hearse scheme. The mother's car remains missing. Click for the full story, which includes Healing's pleas to defend himself in court. (More weird crimes stories.)