Raymond Roth, NY man suspected of faking death, checks into psychiatric hospital

Authorities say Raymond Roth may not have even been at a Long Island N.Y., beach after conducting a five-day search by air and sea.

A Long Island man suspected of faking his own death has checked into a psychiatric hospital, according to Newsday.

Raymond Roth, 47, checked in to an unidentified hospital on Friday but is now being held involuntarily after doctors determined he was a danger to himself, according to the newspaper. 

"He is in a psychiatric hospital because he has psychiatric problems. He is depressed and he is not rational," Roth's attorney, Brian Davis, was quoted as saying.


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Roth's sudden disappearance last month resulted in a five-day search involving the U.S. Coast Guard and cost tens of thousands of dollars. Roth's 22-year-old son, Jonathan, told authorities his father had disappeared during a swim near Jones Beach on July 28.

The search was halted last week after Roth's brother told police Roth had called him from Florida. An officer in South Carolina who stopped Roth for speeding alerted police in New York after learning he was listed as a missing person.

Roth told the officer he had a fight with his wife and was on his way back home. In reality he had been staying in Orlando at a resort.

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His wife, Evana, thought her husband had drowned. She found out Roth was still alive only after reading a series of emails between him and his son during his disappearance, according to media reports. 

She described Roth's behavior leading up to his disappearance as bizarre. Besides putting his home up for sale, Roth had reportedly tripled his life insurance policy and withdrew money from her accounts. She said she was not sure who was named the beneficiary on the policy.

Wife: NY man was act bizarrely before faking his own death

Davis said his client has been struggling with mental illness since the age of 7 when he was hit by a car. His condition only grew worse after losing his job as a computer manager, according to Davis.

Roth had been fired from his job after threatening to shoot two of his supervisors who had demoted him. In response to the threat, police confiscated Roth's .357 Magnum revolver and gun permit.

"That isn't what someone acting rationally would do," Davis told Newsday.

He said Roth began taking medication, including Prozac, that only furthered his irrationality. 

"Instead of calming him and relieving his anxiety, it made him more intense and irate," Davis said.

Jonathan Roth was arrested earlier this week for conspiracy to commit insurance fraud and lying to police. He pleaded not guilty and is being held on $10,000 bond.

The criminal complaint alleges Jonathan conspired with his father to receive more than $50,000 in life insurance money.

Davis said he expects his client to be arrested soon and face charges similar to his son's.

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Discuss this post

not sure what a computer manager is. seems to start from there, the threats, then a convoluted scheme of fraud...but it doesnt add up. we are missing some important parts, and no doubt it casts him in a poorer light. making really bad choices, even those that seem unlikely to improve a situation, is not actually crazy. people do things that defy common sense all the time.

when did he take prozac, who documented the supposed opposite desired effect, what did the doctor change when he reported the bad outcome (obviously he would have stopped prescribing it and tried something else...unless the guy never told anyone until now because its convenient?). certainly if hes depressed hes not crazy, and if a drug makes him turn crazy then not having it now makes him more normal right? thats his big defense? the drugs made him do it? not his stupid lack of anger management and bizarre idea to scoop $50k for disappearing, right? we need Perry Mason, stat!

missing a lot of info, gotta fill in the blanks (and honestly reporting needs to ask the 5Ws over and over until they have a robust and complete story...nahhhh just take a string of a story and run with it)

  • 1 vote
Reply#1 - Thu Aug 9, 2012 2:26 PM EDT
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