An affidavit filed by an FBI special agent says a Souris woman accused of embezzling money from the bank where she worked and then staging a robbery to cover up the theft hit herself in the head with a rock.

Special agent Ryan O'Neil says 45-year-old Tamara Lynn McDonald used a large rock she kept on her desk as a paperweight to hit herself in the face and on the back of the head. He says she then broke out a light bulb inside the bank's vault and forced herself to vomit on the floor before lying down and waiting to be discovered.

Authorities allege that McDonald staged the robbery March 25 immediately after a photocopy machine repairman left the bank in the hopes that his presence would appear suspicious.

McDonald is charged with theft. She hasn't entered a plea yet and is free on a personal recognizance bond.

- Associated Press