TAMPA, Fla. – Upon opening the garage door to her townhouse, Christina “C.J.” Krauss noticed a blown-up air mattress against the wall and the dryer running. “Odd,” she thought, considering she was the first to move in.
Krauss, a junior at the University of Tampa in Florida, packed up some furniture in August 2024 to keep at the Hillsborough County townhouse she’d be living in for the semester. The then 19-year-old traveled alone as her mother wasn’t feeling up for the drive.
“I thought maybe one of my roommates came and was doing laundry. I thought it was weird, but didn’t think much of it. I didn’t want to rush to the worst possible scenario, even though that’s what it was,” she said.
Krauss unlocked the door connecting the garage to the living room. She glanced to her left, and a man dressed in a green t-shirt and cargo shorts got up off the floor. It appeared he had been sleeping on the floor, using Krauss’ sheets and pillowcases, but no pillows, as a bed.
“The squatter says, ‘Yeah, I’m just a painter. I’m waiting for the guys to come back with more stuff. I was just taking a little nap. We’re painting the outside,’” Krauss said. “And I don’t believe it, but I can’t really say much else to him. I don’t know if he’s violent.”
He asked Krauss if she was moving in. She told him yes, and he said he’d be on his way.
“You could help me. If you could, that’d be great,” Krauss told the man. He followed her to the garage, unloaded her furniture, and carried it to her bedroom.
“I said it more in a funny way, but I guess he was like, ‘You know what, I’ll help her. Maybe she’ll be quiet and not say anything if I help her,’” she explained.
“He was being oddly nice to me. I picked up a bookshelf out of my car, and he’s like, ‘Oh damn, little lady, you’re strong as hell. You go to the gym? You got good-looking legs,’” she continued, laughing at the absurdity.
Krauss returned to the garage. It was then she heard back from her maintenance guy. He did not hire painters. “Lock your doors,” he told her.
While she was out of sight, the squatter made his way out the front door, which he had covered with a towel during his stay so no one could peep in. He took his makeshift bed with him, leaving behind a sweatshirt, dirty dishes in the sink, and alcohol in the fridge.
“I see that he’s gone, and I’m just shocked … I can’t even believe that just happened. So I’m like, ‘I guess I should call the police now,’” Krauss recounted.
The cops arrive 20 minutes later, entering her house with their weapons drawn, shouting, “Tampa police. Reveal yourself.”
The police searched every room, lifting fingerprints in hopes of finding his DNA. Krauss explained she thought the interaction with the squatter was “amazing,” since she’s a criminology major, she got to experience firsthand the law enforcement interactions she learned about in school.
The man made several returns to the premises to charge his phone with their outside outlets. Krauss’ roommate, Nelly Korhonen, moved in days after the initial incident and caught his returns. At one point, she brought in the charger he left behind, prompting him to leave a note on the garage door asking for it back.
Krauss was called to the station a week later to review photos and identify the man. Another week passed before the police caught him.
“I got a call the day after the trial, and he was sentenced to prison for a year,” she said. “I honestly was like, am I hearing that right? I didn’t think it was that big of a thing.”
“I was impressed by C.J.’s capability to stay calm and benefit from this situation,” Korhonen said.
Korhonen, an international student from Finland, revealed she didn’t know about squatters prior to this incident.
“When I told everyone in Finland about what happened, they were very confused and were not aware that a situation like this might occur in real life,” she said.
Please make a small donation to the Tampa Free Press to help sustain independent journalism. Your contribution enables us to continue delivering high-quality, local, and national news coverage.
Connect with us: Follow the Tampa Free Press on Facebook and Twitter for breaking news and updates.
Sign up: Subscribe to our free newsletter for a curated selection of top stories delivered straight to your inbox.
