A Toledo woman is confronted in court by a man who stole almost everything from her

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) – A Toledo woman has had a year she will never forget, and a Toledo man now faces jail time for the theft scheme he perpetrated on her.

“Some days I keep repeating what he did to me. My spirit is broken, I have lost the will to live. This has affected my ability to recover as an amputee,” the victim said in her impact statement.

Kyle Conaway was hired as a contractor to make the woman’s home wheelchair accessible.

He ended up during the renovation steal almost everything in the house while she was away.

Conaway was in court Wednesday awaiting sentencing on the theft charge.

“Where I went wrong was months before, I was in the middle of an addiction again,” Conaway said in front of the judge.

Conaway said the job was a bigger undertaking than he expected and he wasn’t in the right frame of mind. Since being arrested, he says he has been recovering from his addiction.

Conaway apologized to the victim.

“I take full responsibility for it and deeply apologize for it,” Conaway said in court.

13 Action News spoke to the victim after the sentencing. She wanted to be identified only by her first name, Sue.

“I made a mistake, I hired the wrong person, but he didn’t have to take all the personal items. It’s the things I can’t replace, that I’ll never get back,” Sue said.

Before reading her impact statement in court, Sue listed everything Conaway had taken from her. It took her more than six minutes to go through the list, which included large and small items ranging from appliances, light fixtures in her home, washcloths, refrigerator magnets and copper from her plumbing. Conaway also stole family heirlooms and sentimental items, selling some of them online.

“The loss of all my family photos makes me feel like an orphan because I have no physical history of who I am, no connections to my past, no memories to cherish,” Sue said in court.

A judge sentenced Conaway to two years in prison for theft and one year in prison for assault. He was subsequently charged hitting police officers during his arrest.

Sue says she wishes the punishment was longer, but is glad this part of the ordeal is over.

“I feel like justice has been served,” Sue said. “I am glad the judge gave him the sentence he did and I feel we can be safer now.”

Although the legal proceedings It’s over for Conaway and one of his associates, Elizabeth Russell, a third man accused of theft, Scott Dibert, still has to appear in court.

Sue said she is now undergoing treatment for anxiety, depression and sleep deprivation after everything she has been through.

Conaway and Russell were ordered to pay Sue $1,500 in restitution.

Sue’s message to anyone who hears her story is to use only reliable sources finding a contractor. Don’t believe the reviews they have on their website because you don’t know if they are fake. The next time she finds someone to work on her house, she says she will go through the BBB.

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