What kind of mother would submit a death notice for her child just for a couple of days off of work? That’s just what Mary Jo Elizabeth Jensen did. She originally was taking time off from work because her son was “ill.” The whole thing is pretty twisted if you ask me.

Police in Iowa have arrested two people accused of filing a fake obituary for teenager Dan “D.J.” Reddout with a newspaper to get off work for a few days.

Police said James Ralph Snyder, who is the boyfriend of Reddout’s mother, and the boy’s mother, Mary Jo Elizabeth Jensen, submitted a death notice to the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier newspaper, saying that Jensen’s 17-year-old son had died at the Mayo Clinic after a lengthy illness. Authorities were notified after the teen was spotted at a restaurant by some family friends.

Police said the pair did it so they could get off work for a few days. Both Snyder and Jensen worked at Tyson Foods and started taking time off from work in December by claiming the boy was hospitalized with an illness, the paper reported. As the scheme continued, Tyson officials were told the boy was on life support and had died, according to the paper.

Snyder and Jensen took several days for funeral leave, the paper reported. After they took the days off, officials from Tyson told the pair they needed verification for their absences, the paper reported. “The boyfriend eventually went to the Waterloo Courier and had a false obituary placed in the newspaper to satisfy their employer,” the Courier reported.

The Courier reported that the teen’s mother said the fake obituary was caused by “bad communication” and that Snyder submitted the obituary after she told him her son was ill and she had joked about his death. Synder is charged with tampering with records. Jensen is charged with being an accessory after the fact.

The obituary is after the jump.

Dan “D.J.” Reddout (1988-2005)

WATERLOO — Dan “D.J.” Reddout, 17, of Waterloo, died Saturday, Dec. 24, at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., of complications from surgery.

He was born April 26, 1988, in Waterloo, son of James Snyder and Mary Jo Jensen. He attended West High School.

Survived by: his parents of Waterloo; grandparents, Vern and Edie Reddout of Iowa City and Glenda Tidaman of Waterloo; an uncle, Kevin Reddout of Cedar Rapids; and two aunts, Janet Reddout of Cedar Rapids and Sandy (Randy) Lee of Stout.

Graveside services: were Tuesday at Osage Memorial Cemetery, Osage.

Memorials: may be directed to the family.