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Woman Who Duped Lance Armstrong with Fake Cancer Case Commits Suicide

Jul 24, 2009, 8:25 PM UTC

â†µâ†µIt may not be particularly surprising that an Idaho woman in her mid-20sâ†µwho suckered Lance Armstrong and many others into a cancer hoax wasâ†µmentally unbalanced enough to commit suicide, but itâ†µis sad:â†µ

â†µâ†µâ‡¥Late last week, Melissa Ann Rice from Ammon, told a campaigner forâ†µâ‡¥Livestrong, the Lance Armstrong Foundation that Jonathan Jay Whiteâ†µâ‡¥did not exist. On Wednesday, the Bonneville County Prosecutor wasâ†µâ‡¥ready to charge Melissa Rice with grand theft by fraud but she wasâ†µâ‡¥found dead in her car in the hills five miles east of Idaho Falls,â†µâ‡¥from an apparent suicide.â†µâ†µ(The news article in question comes from an Idaho TV station and badlyâ†µneeds an editor; [sic] implied above.)â†µâ†µ“Jonathan Jay White” was a 15-year-old kid with brain cancer with a blogâ†µ(now removed but referenced hereâ†µalong with a couple of creepy pictures), a Twitter feed, a bunch ofâ†µsigned Lance Armstrong gear, and no corporeal existence. This is the kind of thing that White posted:â†µ

â†µâ†µâ‡¥With this courage my outlook on the fight began to change, insteadâ†µâ‡¥of dwelling on the pain and being the victim I became the warrior. Iâ†µâ‡¥allowed my entire being to be filled with HOPE and started to focusâ†µâ‡¥on my future and on beating my cancer. I have written down my dreamsâ†µâ‡¥and everything I plan on doing. I learn as much as I can and shareâ†µâ‡¥it with anyone willing to listen. I laugh often, cry when it’sâ†µâ‡¥needed and do my best to turn every bad day into a good one.â†µâ‡¥Surviving cancer is not easy, or fun but it is what I and manyâ†µâ‡¥others do. We are warriors, armed with Hope and we fight.â†µâ†µâ†µWhich I guess is pretty convincing as a random 15-year-old, if a littleâ†µtoo attentive to capitalization and spelling rules.â†µ

â†µ

â†µArmstrong "enjoyed chatting with" White -- presumably about what a jerkâ†µAlberto Contador is -- until some of the charities that had been donatingâ†µmoney to his cause decided they'd pay him a visit after a scheduledâ†µArizona surgery. The jig was up, Idaho authorities closed in, and Riceâ†µdecided to end the hoax in a definitive and tragic manner.â†µ

â†µâ†µWeird, weird story that should have Chris Hansen in it somewhere. Isâ†µthere a moral in there? Maybe cancer charities should get random peopleâ†µon the internet on the phone to confirm they’re, you know, the rightâ†µgender and age and whatnot before offering money to them. Anyone who’s gotten an email from a barrister in a sticky wicketâ†µknows this. Is Isiah Thomas running these things?â†µ

â†µâ†µ(H/T to Deadspin)â†µ

â†µ

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.

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