Sheriff: Woman's kidnapping was a 'total fabrication'

BUTLER COUNTY, Ohio (WKRC) - Butler County sheriff's deputies said a woman lied when she claimed she was tied up, gagged and stripped. Thelma Williams, 38, is charged with making false alarms in what's been called a "total fabrication."

Initially, she told detectives that a masked man, maybe named Tony, got into her Lemon Township home Wednesday at 9 a.m., bound her and cut her clothes off. She told them the intruder used her phone to record this happening, then posted the videos to her Facebook account.

She allegedly went on to say that the intruder called a contact in her phone and left the phone with her. That person called 911. When deputies arrived, they found Williams in the basement. She was loosely tied up with her ripped clothing and gagged with women's underwear.

Sheriff Richard Jones said the helicopter was scrambled to look for a suspect. They blocked off the highway; police and deputies from all over the area responded to help search for a suspect.

As deputies interviewed Williams about what she said had happened, they said there were inconsistencies with her story. They said she then admitted she had made up the story "for attention." Sheriff Jones said she indicated she'd recently broken up with a boyfriend.

Sheriff Jones said fake crimes like this are an insult to real victims of crime and people like this are "the lowest of the low."

Williams appeared in court Friday morning. She's being held on a $10,000 bond and is expected back in court Oct. 6.