Police Say Sex Offender Tried To Fake Own Death, Now Facing Murder Charges

FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - A burning car, a dead body in the trunk and a long-time Fort Worth homicide investigator who says she's never encountered anything like it.

It was a week ago that Fort Worth firefighters were called to douse a burning car on the city's east side.

The fire was ruled an arson, and the death is a homicide. Homicide detective Cheryl Johnson says they don't know exactly who the victim is. "We believe at this time it is possibly a homeless person from the Fort Worth area and we are trying to confirm the identity," explained Johnson.

The car was registered to Michael Gilbert, a wanted sex offender.

Detective Johnson says officers spotted Gilbert's car on Tuesday night.  Fort Worth's SWAT team arrested him after a standoff.

Now Johnson says it looks like Gilbert, who is also known as Michael Henderson, was trying to fake his own death to avoid arrest.  And she says it wouldn't be the first time.

Johnson referred to a phone call made in Mississippi in 2002. "He attempted to fake his death by calling in and he identified himself as the cousin of Michael Gilbert, stated that Michael Gilbert had 'walked into the ocean and disappeared'," she said of the call. "So this would be the second time Michael Gilbert had attempted to fake his death."

Police say that fake death attempt, prompted as Texas police searched for Gilbert for violating parole on a sexual assault of a child conviction, failed.

This time, officers say he was wanted on a charge of sexual assault of a child.  Johnson thinks that when he found out he was wanted, he tried to fake his own death again.

Capital murder charges are pending.