Normally, when a baby is born into a family, it’s welcomed with joy and jubilation. During this time, family and friends come together to celebrate the gift of a new life. In addition to bringing love and support, there is also the presence of gifts and money to help kickstart the couple’s finances which often takes a knock when a child is born.
One twisted couple decided to take advantage of the celebratory generosity associated with birth. Not only did they fake the birth of a baby, but they also faked its death, hoping for a little bit of extra cash.
Meet Geoffrey and Kaycee Lang, the World’s Worst ‘Parents’
The fraudulent act was the brainchild of Geoffrey and Kaycee Lang. The perverted couple lives in a mobile home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Before concocting their ‘get rich quick’ scheme, they had told people that they had previously lost a baby.
As you can imagine, the hoax of losing their second child pulled a little harder on the heartstrings of their loved ones. When the couple asked for financial help with medical and funeral bills, their unsuspecting friends and family jumped to their aid.
The Couple Went To Drastic Extremes To Sell The Lie
Kaycee and Geoffrey pulled out all of the stops in order to make their pregnancy seem real. They had every detail planned out. For example, they had a baby registry to guide gift purchases. The registry had everything on it – from giraffe mittens to a dino onesie.
Kaycee even went as far as to tease her social media friends about the baby’s gender. She published a post on Facebook, “Any guesses on baby Lang’s gender? We will be announcing in a few weeks.”
The Generosity Began Rolling in and They Accepted Every Gift With a Devious Grin
The couple went to serious extremes to make their pregnancy believable. They even had a baby shower where friends and families gathered to give gifts and wish the couple well. A friend organized the event, spending close to $300 on food and gifts – and she didn’t suspect a thing.
By the end of the day, the Langs had received hundreds of dollars worth in clothes, strollers, gift cards, and diapers. Close family members gave the couple groceries and contributed large amounts of money to help set up the life for baby Lang.
Finally, the Big Day Arrived and Kaycee Announced the Birth of Their Son
Not too long after the baby shower, Kaycee Lang took the next step in continuing their scam – announcing the birth of their son. The couple shared their exciting news with the world on social media.
The Facebook photograph showed a serene newborn wrapped in a blanket. They had named their son Easton Walt. Apparently, he was born at 3:11 am on July 3, at Conemaugh Memorial Hospital in Johnstown. The couple was ecstatic, but their joy was not to last.
Not Long After The Announcement of The Birth of Their Son, They Had Another Announcement To Make
It appeared as though the couple’s happiness came to an abrupt end when Kaycee shared another bit of news, shortly after announcing the birth of their son.
Easton Walt barely got a taste of life before it was taken from him. Not long after taking his first breath of fresh air, he died of respiratory failure. Once again, friends and family flocked to help support the mourning couple.
The Langs Spark Suspicion With Their Unnatural Response To Their Newborn’s Death
Take a moment to reflect on what you would do in the circumstance of losing a newborn baby only hours after it was birthed into the world. Most couples would be distraught, wanting no interaction with the outside world, only to mourn with one another.
While most couples would be heartbroken at such a tragic turn of events, the Lang’s reaction to Easton’s death was strangely decisive and began to raise suspicion among some close friends.
Where Most Couples Would Only Ask For Prayers, The Langs Also Asked For Money
Immediately after baby Easton’s feigned death, the Langs sprang into action, activating the next step in their fraudulent plan. They didn’t waste a beat in taking advantage of those around them.
Geoffrey and Kaycee set up a GoFundMe account, asking for monetary donations. They claimed that the cash would help pay for a personalized urn for Easton’s ashes, and help cover the costs of medical and funeral bills.
A Seemingly Earnest Message Was The Perfect Bait To Hook Their Loved Ones
The GoFundMe page had one clear objective and that was to make more money. The page was set up and a very simple message was shared. It read, “Please keep my wife and I in your thoughts and prayer. Our son Easton was born with fluid in his lungs and passed away a few hours after he was born.”
It continued, “We would greatly appreciate if as many of you guys could share this and if u are stable enough to do so is donate also to help pay for the funeral expenses and medical bills”. Not very eloquently written, but the main message was bright as day.
They Took the Final Step to Seal the Deal, Drafting a Heartfelt Obituary
In addition to the public announcement and GoFundMe page, the couple posted a lengthy obituary online. This was one of the final steps in creating an emotional situation to help empty people’s pockets.
Their obituary read, “Easton’s parents were blessed with just a little over 5 hours before he went to his heavenly home at 8:20 am. Easton experienced holding hands and hugs and kisses with his mommy and daddy and being told uncountable number of ‘I love yous’.”
The Money That Flowed In Proves That Seeing Is Not Necessarily Believing
Despite no one having actually seen baby Easton in the flesh, the money began to pour in from the GoFundMe page. A total of 15 donations were received, totaling approximately $550.
People saw the couple’s heartfelt obituary and message on their GoFundMe page, and the donations were given with open hearts. However, the couple wasn’t done with their scam just yet, they had one last deviant stunt to pull.
In Loving Memory Of… A Baby Doll
As much as birth is celebrated, so is death. The couple planned a memorial service to honor the short life and quick death of their baby boy. They invited friends and family to the honorary service, where guests were told another lie.
Baby Easton had apparently been cremated, and there wasn’t a body to bury. This appeared a seemingly plausible explanation, but in reality, it was another falsehood added to a web of lies.
Keep Your Friends Close, But Your Enemies Closer
While some people fully believed the couple’s heartache, there were a few that grew increasingly suspicious with the entire saga. One of these people was Kaycee’s best friend, Cynthia Dilascio, who hosted the couple’s baby shower.
Two weeks after the faux birth, and subsequent death, of Easton, Cynthia reported to the police that she suspected the Langs were lying. Her reason for suspicion was mostly founded on the fact that she hadn’t seen Kaycee since the baby shower. The following events simply served to compound these suspicions.
When The Police Decided To Investigate, They Were Shocked At What They Found
The police decided to listen to Cynthia and investigate her claims. First, they checked Cambria County Coroner’s Office as well as the Somerset County Coroner’s Office for any records of the newborn. Neither of them had ever heard of Easton Lang.
Cynthia now had the investigators’ full attention. They then checked Conemaugh Memorial Hospital and Conemaugh Memorial OB/GYN, but again, there was no record of either Easton Lang or Kaycee Lang. Circumstances were beginning to look increasingly fishy.
The Funeral Home Put The Final Nail In The Coffin
There was one final stop to make before calling the couple in for questioning. The police drove over to the funeral home where the couple said that they had bought the container for their child’s remains.
Upon arrival, the police were informed that the funeral home had no records of the newborn’s existence, and had never heard of a Baby Easton Lang. So far, it seemed that the only people who had ever seen the baby (alive or dead) were the “parents” themselves.
You Won’t Believe What The Couple Had To Say When Interviewed By Police
With the alert now raised, the couple was called in by police for questioning. Geoffrey claimed that he was not present at the baby’s birth. However, he did know that the baby had fluid on its little lungs, and Easton’s heart rate had dropped below 55 bpm.
Kaycee went on to explain that the baby had respiratory distress syndrome, resulting in the newborn’s untimely death. Despite sticking to their story, the police were not convinced.
After Issuing A Search Warrant, The Police Find The Unthinkable In The Lang’s Home
The police had their eyes set on catching the Langs. The very next day, they issued a search warrant for the Lang’s home. When officers looked through the house, they found the missing piece of the puzzle.
In the house was a life-like newborn baby doll. The doll had been the model for all of the pictures on social media. There was also an urn with “Easton Walt Lang” etched into it. The gig was up.
The Police Turned Up The Heat For The Treacherous Couple
The couple had not only lied to the public, but they had betrayed their closest friends and family. They had robbed their loved ones without a care in the world. However, the police were not going to let them get away with it.
The police also had a ‘gift’ to give the couple – charges of fraud and theft by deception. Geoffrey and Kaycee Lang were set to appear in court.
GoFundMe Also Had A Message For the Couple, And It Wasn’t Friendly
The couple had used the GoFundMe platform to steal money from their loved ones. After the allegations were brought to light, a GoFundMe spokesperson had a few things to say. Firstly, the account for the couple had been shut down.
They followed this action with a statement to the American public, “This type of behavior is not tolerated on GoFundMe. We will fully cooperate with law enforcement officials during their investigation and we will issue full refunds to all donors. We have a zero-tolerance policy for any misuse on the platform.”
There Was One More Group Of People To Attend To – Those Who Had Been Betrayed
The couple had their GoFundMe page closed down, they were going to appear in court, and the police had done their job. However, the donors still had to be seen to. Up to 15 donations were made on the GoFundMe page, totaling up to $550.
Luckily, all donors were fully protected by a GoFundMe guarantee which states that donors are protected by a comprehensive refund policy in the instance of misuse.
The Scam Is Revealed To The Public, And The Public Was Not Happy
Not only did the police investigation bring the couple’s scam to light, but it also brought their true characters to the attention of everyone. Not only did they fake giving birth to a son to scam their community, but they also faked its death to keep gifts and money flowing in.
You can only imagine the deep sense of betrayal that the family and friends of the couple must have felt. They had not only invested their love and time into the couple but also their money – and it was all a lie.