MARION, Ohio, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- A sheriff's deputy in Marion County, Ohio, falsely informed his co-workers he was suffering from cancer up until his suicide, his boss says.
Marion County Sheriff Tim Bailey said while he was suspicious that Deputy Joe Russell may not be suffering from cancer, his suspicions were not validated until an autopsy on the deputy's body confirmed Russell did not have cancer, The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch said Thursday.
"I was alone," Bailey said. "There was really no way to find this or determine this. What I beat myself up over is, 'What could I have done?'"
Russell, who committed suicide on Sept. 30, used his cancer claims to collect more than 600 hours of sick-leave time from his co-workers as he feigned illness on and off for four years.
Bailey told the Dispatch his former deputy likely supported his claims be forging doctors' notes about his ongoing battle with cancer of the brain, lungs and testicles.
Bailey suspects Russell even shaved parts of his body and used a tanning bed to make his body appear to be undergoing the ravages of cancer treatment.
