Dumbest crime? Woman falsely reported to police her husband had killed her

A woman from Utah has been arrested after she falsely reported to police that her husband had killed her. Photo / Police

A woman from Utah has been arrested after she falsely reported to police that her husband had killed her.

Bluffdale police were contacted by a different woman at around 2am on Tuesday local time, who said she had received texts from her friend's husband's cell phone claiming he had shot and killed his wife, Rebecca Nielson.

The friend then responded to the husband, asking if he was serious before receiving more messages from Shaun Dudley's phone claiming it wasn't a joke.

Messages from the man's phone said: "I have shot my wife and don't know what to do".

Police were soon notified and surrounded the house, calling for the husband to come out with his hands up.

Instead, the supposedly dead wife came outside and confessed to sending false messages from Dudley's phone.

Police were told the couple had been fighting over allegations Dudley had been cheating on his wife.

The couple's fight escalated, with the 44-year-old picking up her husband's computer and throwing it on the ground.

During an interview with police, Nielson admitted to taking her husband's phone and sending fake text messages to the woman.

Nielson said she wanted to see if the woman would be an accomplice in covering up a crime and how she would react, court documents state.

She was arrested for criminal mischief and falsely reporting an emergency. She was booked into the Utah County Jail.