The couple, who were both married, had embarked on an affair after they met online.
But when the woman from Buckenburg in Germany tried to end the relationship, her internet lover reportedly refused to let things lie and bombarded her and her husband with explicit images, according to local media.
In response she and her partner decided to stage her death, creating a presumably grisly scene using tomato ketchup as blood and sending the photographs to her ex.
The plan was unsuccessful, however, as the man called the police to report the 'fatal accident'.
Police investigated but quickly realised the images were fake.
A police spokesman, quoted in German media, said: "Many a police officer asks himself every now and then whether he's on a hidden-camera show or accidentally fell into the location of a third-rate detective film."
