Police have accused Angela Buchanan of
tricking a woman into having a lesbian affair and marrying her.
The 30-year-old Buchanan of Lufkin,
Texas has been charged with online impersonation and faces up to a
year in jail.
Police allege that in a Yahoo!
Messenger chat, Buchanan confided in her 51-year-old friend that
Buchanan had had breast cancer in 2008 and that she was currently
suffering from a pre-cancerous mass.
Later, Buchanan contacted her friend on
Yahoo! Messenger, allegedly posing as a doctor.
The victim said “that 'Doc' advised
that the pre-cancerous mass in Buchanan's breast could possible be
delayed or cured by an increase in certain hormone productions,”
the affidavit read. “'Doc' advised that this hormone production
could be stimulated by sexual intercourse. 'Doc' began to recommend
to [the victim] that she participate in sexual activity [with
Buchanan] in order to bolster this hormone production and possibly
save her friend's life.”
The victim said she decided to “make
the sacrifice” to help her friend, despite her religious
convictions.
Later, Buchanan convinced her friend to
marry her in order to strengthen her claim in a child custody
dispute, The
Lufkin News reported. (It is not clear where the women
married, as such unions are not legal in Texas.)
Buchanan's deceit came undone when the
victim contacted Buchanan's former same-sex partner and found out
that she had lied about having breast cancer in 2008 and that there
was no ongoing child custody legal battle.
She later contacted the Lufkin doctor
who had supposedly prescribed sex as a cancer remedy only to find out
that her wife had invented the story.
Buchanan confessed her deception to
police. She is currently free on bond pending future court dates.