Cops: Man Fabricated Hitchhiker's Death To Make Wife Leave

A 28-year-old man in Marion County, Fla., was arrested Tuesday for making up a story that he killed a hitchhiker and dumped his body in the forest in an effort to persuade his wife to leave him, according to police.

Investigators said Teddy Akin (pictured, left) told his wife he killed a man and then dumped the body off east Highway 40.

Akin also told detectives at the Ocala police department that he left the body by the interstate and turned in a wallet belonging to Dennis Allen of Utah.The Marion County Sheriff's Office began a land and air search of areas around Highway 40 but did not locate a body.Akin was interviewed again by police and admitted the report was false and that he found the wallet at a newspaper box at Nuby's Corner located near Highway 314.He told investigators that he was having problems with his wife and hoped that this story would make her leave him, the report said.Detectives contacted Dennis Allen in Utah who confirmed that he had lost his wallet while visiting Ocala and that he did not know Akin or take a ride with him.Akin was arrested for filing a false report and theft.The sheriff's office also said they would probably bill Akin for the cost of their seven-hour search, Capt. Thomas Bibb said. "This was something that cost us a lot of time and energy," Bibb said.--