She Faked Her Death… But the Body Wasn’t Hers

How a woman’s thirst for vengeance led to a chilling murder plot—and a shocking case of mistaken identity.

A meticulously crafted plan always looks flawless on paper. But when put into action, even the most elaborate schemes can unravel with the slightest misstep. In one of the most disturbing cases of identity manipulation in recent memory, a woman’s desire for revenge against her ex-husband spiraled into a heinous crime, a tragic death, and a global media frenzy.

This is the story of Sharaban, an Iraqi immigrant living in Germany, whose obsession with revenge blurred the lines between sanity and malice. Her scheme was not just cold-blooded—it was a psychological labyrinth of manipulation, deception, and ultimately, murder.

A Relationship Turned Toxic

Sharaban’s relationship with her ex-husband, Ruan, had long since soured. Their breakup was far from amicable—marked by business conflicts, personal betrayals, and a contentious dispute over an unwanted pregnancy. As tensions escalated, their arguments turned violent, and the toxic aftermath consumed Sharaban entirely.

Instead of seeking closure or healing, she sought revenge—and not just any revenge. She wanted Ruan to suffer in the most unimaginable way: by being falsely accused of her murder.

A Sinister Plan is Born

To frame Ruan, Sharaban needed something chillingly specific: a body double.

A doppelganger.

Someone who looked just enough like her to convince both police and family that she had died—and that Ruan had done it.

Sharaban turned to social media, creating a fake persona as a beauty talent scout, promising free salon treatments to aspiring models. That’s how she found Kadia, a 23-year-old waitress and Pakistani immigrant who bore a striking resemblance to her.

The trap was set

Preparing for the Perfect Lie

Sharaban’s attention to detail was alarming. She styled her hair to match Kadia’s. She dressed herself in a distinctive dark blue dress—the same one Kadia would later be instructed to wear. Even her parents saw her in that dress the day before the planned killing, a calculated move to implant the false memory that she had last been seen wearing it.

On the fateful day, Sharaban and her new boyfriend, Shia, picked up Kadia under the pretense of taking her to a beauty salon. Instead, they drove her to a remote wooded area—isolated and quiet. There, in a brutal and premeditated attack, Shia stabbed Kadia repeatedly, disfiguring her face beyond recognition.

They placed her body in Sharaban’s car and abandoned the scene, assuming the damage would delay identification long enough to let their plan unfold: that police would find the body, misidentify it as Sharaban, and arrest Ruan for her “murder.”

The Lie Begins to Unravel

For a few short hours, it looked like the plan might work. The car, the body, the clothing—it all seemed to point to one person: Sharaban. But investigators were immediately suspicious. The victim’s face was so violently mutilated that it seemed deliberate, like an attempt to prevent proper identification.

Then came the twist

The very next day, a woman named Samira reported her friend and coworker, Kadia, missing. Her timeline matched the discovery of the body. And when authorities compared DNA from the remains to Kadia’s relatives, the truth was undeniable:

The body wasn’t Sharaban. It was Kadia.

The Trial: Blame, Betrayal, and No Remorse

Sharaban and Shia were swiftly arrested. During their trial, the pair turned on each other—each insisting the other was the mastermind. Neither showed any remorse for the life they had taken or for the twisted game they had played.

Their explanations faltered under questioning. What would they have done next, had the plan succeeded? How long could they have kept the lie alive?

There were no clear answers—just a chilling silence, broken only by contradictions and deflections.

A Cautionary Tale of Identity and Obsession

Sharaban’s desire for vengeance was so overpowering that she orchestrated a plan that defied logic and morality. What began as an attempt to manipulate perception ended in a brutal killing and a worldwide reckoning with how far some are willing to go for revenge.

In the end, no one won.

Ruan wasn’t framed. Sharaban didn’t vanish.

And Kadia—a young woman with her whole life ahead of her—paid the ultimate price.

This case is a disturbing reminder of how the pursuit of revenge can twist into something monstrous—and how identity, in the wrong hands, can become a deadly weapon.

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