RIDGELAND: Suspect had his heart set on escaping justice, police say.
By Stephanie Broadbent
Carolina Morning News

A man who apparently tried to fake his own death had his pacemaker cut out of his chest in a South Carolina motel room shortly after staging his disappearance in January.

Steven Lukowich, 35, of Ridgeland is recovering from an infection in an Erie, Pa., jail where he faces charges of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.

Jasper County deputies said he staged his disappearance in January, then had his pacemaker delivered to his wife, along with a piece of skin and a letter claiming he'd been murdered by religious zealots.

It turns out Lukowich had been a willing participant - possibly the only participant - in an amateur surgery to remove his pacemaker, said Chief Deputy Roy Hughes of the Jasper County Sheriff's Office. It is unclear who removed the device, but it was apparently someone with no medical training..."