A Fort Worth woman says squatters smashed her teeth with a refrigerator when she returned to clean a home she was moving out of. NBC 5’s Kennan Willard has the story.
A Fort Worth woman is recovering after she says squatters smashed her teeth with a refrigerator.
Noel Patrick was trying to move out of her home in the 2500 block of Bomar Avenue on Sunday when the attack happened, and she’s left facing thousands in medical bills.
Watch NBC 5 free wherever you are
WATCH HERE“I’m about $6,000, $7,000 in debt from this one situation,” Patrick said.
For Patrick, the headaches started as soon as she moved into a home, where the landlord told her he had just spent two years fighting to remove squatters living inside.
Get top local stories in DFW delivered to you every morning with NBC DFW's News Headlines newsletter.
SIGN UP “When I moved in, the house was completely destroyed,” Patrick said. “They ruined the flooring, the walls; there were holes in the walls.”
After spending more than a year in the home, Patrick decided it was time to go, moving her three children out on Saturday.
On Sunday, she returned to the home for one last cleanup.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
“When I came in, everything went upside down,” said Patrick.
Stepping into the kitchen, Patrick said she came face to face with a man and a woman stealing the refrigerator.
“I looked at her and said, ‘Ma’am, you’ve got to go,’” said Patrick. “And out of nowhere, the fridge comes down on me.”
Patrick told NBC 5 the apparent squatters shoved the fridge into her, sending it smashing into her teeth before running out the door.
It was one example of the potential danger of squatting, which some state leaders said was rising in Texas.
“They can break into your house and live over there for a long time,” said Rep. Angie Chen Button, R-Garland.
Button filed House Bill 32, which would allow landlords to obtain evictions without a hearing in some cases.
“Right now, Texas property owners face a very, very long and expensive eviction process when they try to regain possession of their own rental properties from people who are not entitled to be there,” said Button.
On Monday, Patrick had one of her teeth fixed but would still need to replace two others, leaving her with thousands of dollars in medical debt.
She said her case showed squatting was a problem that needed to be addressed.
“We need more rights for us and less rights for them,” Patrick said.
Opponents of HB32 previously told NBC 5 they were concerned the law would remove tenants’ rights to plead their case in court and could damage communities of color and low-income renters.
