Woman who faked kidnapping admits theft

TOLEDO (AP) — A former attorney who lied last year about being kidnapped and driven to Georgia while she was pregnant admitted Monday that she stole $624,000 from about two dozen people.

Karyn McConnell Hancock pleaded guilty to aggravated theft and will face a maximum of eight years in prison when she is sentenced in January.

The former city councilwoman whose father is a judge said she would steal money from one client to replace money taken from another during a five-year period beginning in 2002.

Prosecutors have identified 23 victims. McConnell Hancock already settled one claim with a man who said she stole $128,000 from an insurance settlement.

Hancock, 38, was the subject of a nationwide search after she went missing for three days last December.

She first told authorities that a man with a gun abducted her outside a juvenile court building in downtown Toledo and forced into the back of a van. She was found three days later after she flagged down a motorist near Six Flags amusement park in Austell, Ga. Her car was found nearby.

She soon admitted she had made up the story and driven herself to the Atlanta area.

Hancock was found guilty of a misdemeanor charge of making false alarms and was sentenced to probation for two years and fined $300. She also resigned from practicing law in the state.

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