ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – Eveyln Silinzy had big plans for her Berkeley home.

“This was going to be my retirement home. It’s quiet over here,” she said.

But it needed a lot of work before she could move in. Silinzy says a random conversation with a man she met at a local library got the ball rolling on the project.

“I finally told him I have a home that I’m working on, that I’m trying to rehab. And he said, That’s what I do,” Silinzy said.

Eveyln shared contracts with FOX 2; she says they detail the work Christopher O’Neal and his company, Urban Development Property Services LLC, agreed to do at her home. 

She claims she gave O’Neal the payment, and work started, but problems soon followed with the roof repairs.

“He put a roof on but in the process, it rained. He didn’t have all of the entire roof on the property,” Silinzy explained. “It went really sour. We had cursing words. He told me, ‘Just let me do my job.’ And I told him, ‘You’re not going to get another dime from me.’ And he stopped working. He stopped working. It rained again.” 

Eveyln says the rain caused serious damage to the ceilings where the roof repairs weren’t completed.

A tarp now covers a section of the leaking roof. Eveyln showed us other spots where she questions the quality of the work she says O’Neal’s crew was responsible for.

Eveyln filed a civil suit against Christopher O’Neal and his company in St. Louis County court, alleging O’Neal owes her $13,500

“I want Mr. Christopher O’Neal to repay me and stop doing business,” Silinzy said.

We visited O’Neal’s home to ask him about the situation. He didn’t answer when we knocked, but FOX 2 spoke to him on the phone moments later. 

He says he stopped work on the job because he was owed money and said he would meet Evelyn in court, prove his case and win. 

Christopher O’Neal didn’t show up to court on March 11 for a hearing on the matter, but Silinzy was there and FOX 2 spoke with her after.

“This is a nightmare. It’s been a nightmare from day one with him. I hope I prevail in court,” Silinzy said.

On April 8, she did. 

The judge issued Evelyn a default judgment, entitling her to recover more than $13,000 from O’Neal. O’Neal didn’t attend the trial. 

He tells FOX 2 he didn’t have money to hire an attorney and didn’t want to fight with Eveyln in court. 

He says he will pay her the money but still stands by the work.