Habitual 9-1-1 Caller in Zanesville, OH, Pleads Guilty
An Ohio woman who called 9-1-1 nearly 400 times, sometimes several times a day, has had her day in court.
Kesha Kennedy pleaded guilty to disrupting public services, false alarms, both felonies, and another 25 misdemeanor counts of misuse of 911 systems.
The South Zanesville Fire Department was unable to respond to a call involving a person who couldn’t breathe — and who later died — because they were occupied transporting the 34-year-old fabulist, the prosecutor said.
Each transport and visit was footed by taxpayer dollars through Medicaid, The New York Post reported.
A forensic psychologist who evaluated Kennedy said she demonstrated “a factitious disorder, which means that she’s a liar,” Muskingum County Assistant Prosecutor John Litle told the court.
Kennedy’s bizarre behavior has been on display in at least four other counties in Ohio, including in Licking County where she pleaded guilty to misusing the 911 system in 2023, prosecutors said.
Susan Nicol | News Editor
Susan Nicol is the news editor for Firehouse.com. She is a life member and active with the Brunswick Volunteer Ambulance & Rescue Company, Oxford Fire Company and Brunswick Vol. Fire Co. Susie has been an EMT in Maryland since 1976. Susie is vice-president of the Frederick County Fire/Rescue Museum. She is on the executive committee of Frederick County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association. She also is part of the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems (MIEMSS) Region II EMS Council. Susie is a board member of the American Trauma Society, Maryland Division. Prior to joining the Firehouse team, she was a staff writer for The Frederick News-Post, covering fire, law enforcement, court and legislative issues.
