Ohio man told he is dead by judge while he stands in court

"I don't know where that leaves you, but you're still deceased as far as the law is concerned."

That's what Donald Miller was told by an Ohio court this week as he stood there, healthy as can be, in front of the judge.

According to reports carried by the BBC and The Associated Press, Mr Miller disappeared in 1986, fleeing a home, family, and debt after he lost his job – and only resurfaced in 2005.

He was, therefore, declared dead in 1994.

The judge, however, found that Ohio state law has a three-year limit on overturning death rulings: so he can do nothing for Mr Miller. Judge Davis described it as a "strange, strange situation".

In an even bigger twist, Mr Miller owed his ex-wife a mountain of child support for the missing years, piling up to more than US $25,000. But when he was declared dead, his wife, as a widow, was entitled to social security payments.

Now, since he is still "dead", she does not have to return them – which is why she challenged her ex-husband's plea to have his "death" overturned.

"My paycheck was being taken away from me and I had nothing left," Miller told the court about his disappearance, according to the Findlay Courier.

"It kind of went further than I ever expected it to," Miller said. "I just kind of took off, ended up in different places," he said.

Of course, this raises lots of odd legal questions: can he be charged with a crime? "I'm sorry, your honour, but I couldn't have done it. I'm dead."

Best excuse to get out of jury duty, too.