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Mom fakes daughter's death, holds memorial service in Ferguson

The memorial service was held at the Ferguson Heights Church of Christ on Nov. 10, 2018. The church's rep said they had no idea the service was a sham.
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FERGUSON, Mo. — A woman says her mother held a celebration of life to mourn her death. The only thing is that she was very much alive.

"They had pictures of me blown up into posters that said rest in peace Brittany, and my aunt eventually had obtained one of the obituaries and sent pictures of it," said Brittany Johnson-Webster.

This obituary says "Brittany finished her story on October 27, 2018. She was called to meet all the loving animal babies on the other side of the rainbow."

"I was kind of stunned. It was a whole rush of emotions," said Johnson-Webster.

She said she lives nearly three hours away from where her mother held her memorial service.

"My brother actually died and here my mom is faking my death. You know I was upset, I was angry, but more than anything, I was sad," she said.

The memorial service was held at the Ferguson Heights Church of Christ on Nov. 10, 2018. Complete with a solo, remarks, and a repass, the church's representative said they had no idea the service was a sham.

"She claimed I died in a car accident and the next day someone had pulled out in front of me and I slammed on my brake and spun out three times, and all I could think was I'm going to die, my mom's speaking my death into existence," said Johnson-Webster.

Brittany, who was raised by her grandparents, said she believes her mother's motivation was greed.

"I apologize for her actions. It's messed up, but she ended up scamming you guys out of some money, you know just trying to make you feel bad."

Brittany took her frustration to her mother, who she said has a history of drug abuse.

"'What's wrong with you? You faked my death.' But she hasn't even looked at the message or anything," said Johnson-Webster.

She said after all of this what scares her the most is that she has no idea where her mother is. She said she fears for her safety and is asking anyone who may know where she is to contact Ferguson police.

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