Aha! Just as I suspected when the story first came out. Some things just seem to scream "fake."

I'm still not convinced. My dad was from eastern KY, and there are some places you just don't need to be unless you're invited (and maybe not even then). Not to mention that the law there is a little more easily influenced (shall we say) than most other places.

Also, wouldn't it be a bit difficult to bind and gag yourself without making it obvious in the first place? And if I were to buy two life insurance policies and had such plans, I sure as hell would read the fine print first.

A normal, sane person certainly would, but you can't assume that of a person willing to destroy their own life, and a a warped sense of consideration for those left behind. The gag...simple. The tape is awkward, but not difficult and certainly not impossible. "Obvious" is subjective, and in this case, the forensics showed that he "obviously" did it to himself.