TOLEDO, Ohio — Allegations of theft in a search warrant connected to an alleged cancer scam are causing shock and pain in a community that had wrapped its arms around Lisa Titkemeier, the woman at the center of the investigation by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations.
From the numerous fundraisers for her cancer treatment to the cash donations, meal trains and personal interactions, those who supported Titkemeier feel scammed and angry.
Collin Pahle, a local DJ, and Cosette Stalker were two of Titkemeier's biggest supporters after she announced a battle with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2021.
Their relationships with Titkemeier started when her son raised money for the families of Anthony Dia and Brandon Stalker, two Toledo police officers who were killed in the line of duty in July 2020 and January 2021, respectively, by holding lemonade and hot cocoa stands.
Cosette Stalker, Brandon's mother, recalled thinking about what a great mom Titkemeier was at the time.
"I thought, 'You're amazing the way you raised your son,' and how he wanted to do this and what he did for the Dia family too, and then he turns around and does it for our family," she said.
So, when Titkemeier told Stalker that she was diagnosed with cancer months later, Stalker said she jumped right in to help.
"I said, 'Oh, my goodness. I'm so sorry, you know, if there's anything I can do to help, if you need me to pick up any medicine, go to the doctors, I'll help you in any way I can," Stalker said.
She also offered to put on a fundraiser to help Titkemeier and her family with Lisa's medical bills and even enlisted friends who did not know Titkemeier to help.
"I got in touch with my friend who makes baskets all the time and she lives in Michigan and I got ahold of her and said, 'Can you help me? This girl has cancer. We're going to do a benefit for her and can you help?' and she said, 'Yes, I will,' so I went up there and picked up a lot of baskets, like 13 baskets I think I picked up from her," Stalker said. "And another girl that's a friend of hers had more baskets so we picked up those baskets and I think we had 20-25 baskets."
The event was held at Wheelin' on the Rocks on West Laskey Rd. in August of 2021.
Collin Pahle, who donated his DJ services to the fundraiser, said Titkemeier thanked the crowd for coming and he sang a song for her and her husband, Ryan.
"They got up there right in front of my DJ setup while I sang and they danced and he held her like she was dying," said Pahle.
According to a sworn affidavit, the event raised $5,200.
Stalker showed 11 Investigates t-shirts with the saying, 'Lisa the Warrior: Your battle is our battle' that were sold at the event with the proceeds going to Titkemeier.
Titkemeier also held a 'Light the Night' fundraiser at her home in Toledo in October of 2021 to collect donations for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
Pahle again donated his DJ talents to the event, he said, even turning down a wedding gig that would have paid more than $1,100 that night.
"I turned it away for a woman who supposedly had cancer," Pahle said.
Their friendships deepened and Stalker said she even introduced Titkemeier to her sister who really was battling cancer.
"I think that that's the part that really gets me because she lied to my sister who actually had cancer," Stalker said. "That's the worst thing you can do to somebody who actually has cancer."
According to a sworn BCI affidavit, Titkemeier told a BCI agent that she did not have cancer and used the donations to pay her bills.
Stalker and Pahle both think the hurt runs deep for all of the people who donated countless gift cards, money, time and talents for a woman now accused of faking it all.
"I think she owes an apology to a lot of people," Stalker said. "Why lie after the good that you taught your son to do and then you turn around and lie? She needs to learn that we don't do things like that and that's not acceptable, especially with that disease."
Pahle said he will be much more cautious about donating his talents to people other than close friends or family.
"Obviously, I donated my time for somebody that lied straight to my face. They took my kindness for weakness. She fooled everybody, literally everybody," he said. "She fooled social media, she fooled television networks, she fooled the community and it's a huge slap in the face to all of us."
The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society confirmed to 11 Investigates that it did receive donations brought in by Titkemeier's fundraiser.
"Lisa Titkemeier registered for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Light The Night event in 2021. We can confirm the donations that came in through her Light The Night LLS.org fundraising page and the LLS Light The Night Facebook fundraiser were sent directly to LLS," said LLS spokesperson Melissa Valentino in a statement.
The families of TPD officers Anthony Dia and Brandon Stalker confirmed that Titkemeier did donate money to them, but neither knows if it was the amount she said she had raised, which was $14,000.
Titkemeier told Stalker that she handed the donations for their family directly to a TPD SWAT officer. Toledo Police spokesperson Lt. Paul Davis told 11 Investigates he confirmed that an officer did take money from Titkemeier to the Toledo Police Credit Union where there was an account in Brandon Stalker's name, but that the department itself does not track who deposited what amount.
Jayme Dia, officer Anthony Dia's widow, said she did not directly accept money from Titkemeier, but that she could have deposited money at the credit union.
"I 100% have no idea," she said. "(Titkemeier) could have given it to someone else. People were just handing money to officers in the street at that time. If she did deposit money in the credit union, then, yes, I would have received that money."
Dia said the allegations against Titkemeier are disappointing, especially because it's such a departure from the generosity Titkemeier originally exhibited.
"They came to the spotlight by having such an incredible son and she flipped it around to take advantage of a lot of people's kindness," Dia said.