Man fakes knife attack to impress date

Plot goes wrong after woman screams, runs for help

File this under "Bad Ideas 101."

An Arkansas man who planned a fake knife attack to impress his date was forced to confess to police after the plot massively backfired, Jonesboro TV station KAIT reported.

Jeffrey Tyler Siegel, 26, and his date were walking in a nature center after a night out when a man in black approached them and told Siegel, "You can go. But your girlfriend stays."

The woman screamed and ran off, while Siegel claimed he stayed and fought off the knife-wielding attacker, Yahoo! News reported.

Police and canine units combed the area for the suspect, but eventually called off the search.

When investigators contacted the woman several days later, she told them Siegel texted a lot and was acting oddly before the alleged attack.

Siegel eventually confessed after police told him they would not press charges if he fessed up, KAIT reported.

According to Siegel, the "attacker" was a friend and everything had been staged.

"He did not ever intend on it going this far and that he did not plan on the police being notified. He said it just really got out of hand very fast," the police report stated.

As for his date, she wasn't too impressed by the ruse, telling KAIT it was "not very heroic."