In New York City, a grandson found his mother’s dead body, beaten by squatters, in an apartment of his recently deceased grandmother. In Atlanta, an Army officer away serving on active duty had her home possessed by a convicted drug dealer. In Jacksonville, a property owner had a brick thrown at her car by two squatters who had moved into her rental home. They did $40,000 worth of damage before being finally removed by police.

Squatters are invading temporarily unoccupied homes across the country. Atlanta realtors estimate that 1,200 homes and apartments are illegally occupied in that metro area.