Serial squatter on the move after leaving major mess in a Rowlett home
ROWLETT, TEXAS (CBSNewsTexas.com) - A North Texas homeowner gave CBS News Texas a tour of the home he leased to Heather Schwab, a so-called "serial squatter."
Colin Davis arrived at his home expecting a confrontation. He asked the police to be there in case things got heated, but once inside, they found the house vacant. Left behind: rotting food, cigarette butts, beer bottles and worse. "I'm pretty sure that's pee in the bottle," said Davis. "It's almost like homeless people living in here."
All in all, though, Davis says he's relieved.
"It's not as bad as I thought it was going to be," he told Andrea Lucia. "I was expecting the shelves to be smashed, mirrors to be broken, holes in walls where we'd have to patch up everything."
While it appears Schwab attempted to paint part of the fireplace and cabinets, the place is mostly just a big mess.
As CBS News Texas was interviewing, a worker with Aaron's Funiture arrived to pick up a refrigerator he said was rented to Heather Ruybal.
Davis told him, "That's a tenant that has no authorization to be here."
Ruybal is one of several aliases Schwab has used over the years. It's one more piece of evidence the Davises are collecting, hoping the legal system will one day hold her accountable.
While Schwab is gone, the Davises are still owed thousands of dollars in unpaid rent. Rowlett police tell CBS News Texas they're investigating too, and preparing a case to take to the Dallas County DA's Office.
CBS News Texas has reported on Schwab for years, after homeowners said she would move in and then refuse to pay rent. Local attorneys dubbed her and her husband the "serial squatters," saying they know the eviction process better than some lawyers.
