On Thursday, August 14, 2014, Davenport Police arrested Kerry Lynn Muller. She is charged with one count of 4th degree theft, a misdemeanor, and one count of 2nd degree theft, a felony.
According to the arrest affidavit, Muller held a benefit for Dennis Edmonds at Bad Boyz Pizza on June 14th. Investigators say she raised about $445, then took that money and "used it for her own causes rather than the intended purpose of the donations, permanently depriving the donors and Edmonds of the money."
Edmonds told News 8 that he is dying of cancer, and the money was supposed to go towards funeral expenses and medical bills. He said he's never seen any of the donations, though.
"I'm just dumbfounded, you know?" said Edmonds. "It just gets me in my heart that a girl I knew this long did that to me. Not just me, but the people that donated, my wife."
Muller also opened a bank account at Wells Fargo Bank called the "Dennis Edmonds Charitable Fund." Police say she then began writing checks on the account, knowing there was no money in it, and deposited the checks into another account at Ascentra Credit Union. The arrest report says Muller would then withdraw money from Ascentra.
According to the affidavit, "The amount reported stolen from Ascentra Credit Union by the defendant was $1,350."
Meanwhile, Edmonds says he still has a pile of bills, no insurance, and not a dime from those donations.
"People, you know them for a long time, but I guess you can't always trust what's going to happen. I had no idea something like this would happen, and like I said, it hurts," said Edmonds.
Edmonds says his niece has now started a Go Fund Me page, where people can donate to expenses online. You can find that website here.
Muller was held at the Scott County Jail until she posted $5,000 bond.