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Beverly Mitchell came back from 2½ weeks in Greece on Oct. 4 to find that a stranger had moved into her Douglasville, Ga., home.
"I noticed a car in the driveway and the windows of the house were open, which freaked me out," Mitchell, 46, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I had left everything shut up."
Mitchell quickly backed out of the driveway, hitting a tree twice, and dialed 911.
Douglas County Sheriff's Deputy Chuck Haralson went into the house and found a different Beverly naked in the shower — 53-year-old Beverly Valentine, a stranger to Beverly Mitchell.
"In 28 years, I've never seen something this strange," said Chief Sheriff's Deputy Stan Copeland.
It turned out that this funny Valentine had moved her own furniture and her dog into the house, switched the utilities to her name, taken Mitchell's family photos down from the walls, worn Mitchell's clothes, installed a washer and dryer, ripped up carpeting and begun to lay down floor tiles.
"She had two, maybe even three different types of tiles," Mitchell told the newspaper. "That's just out of this world."
Valentine first said she'd been in the house two weeks and had gotten in by breaking a window with a shovel. Then she said she'd lived there two years.
Finally Valentine admitted she'd just needed a place to live, saw that no one was home at Mitchell's house, "and she just moved her things in the house," according to the sheriff's report.
"Some people have suggested," Mitchell said, "and I agree, that she probably thought this was her home."
In Valentine's car, authorities found a gun and $23,000 in jewelry belonging to Mitchell. She was charged with burglary and held in the Douglas County Jail in lieu of $25,000 bail.
"What she's done is really make a mess," said Mitchell. "She repainted around the fireplace, and there's paint all over the brick. I'm going to have to get somebody to probably sandblast stuff like that to get it off."
Asked if she'd keep any of Valentine's remodeling work, Mitchell responded, "It's not my style."
Mitchell said she is sympathetic to the plight of Valentine, who was apparently recently evicted from her own home about 20 miles away, but thinks she may have already gotten help.
"She's saying she moved by herself, but she didn't lift a washer and dryer by herself," said the angry homeowner. "And she didn't lift a sleeper sofa by herself. Did she just hire some local help or was there somebody else involved?"
As for the washer and dryer, Valentine told authorities she didn't care what happened to them, so police are leaving them in Mitchell's care.
"I'm hoping maybe 'Extreme Makeovers,' somebody like that, will get in touch with me," Mitchell said. "It's a bizarre story, and they always want bizarre stories."
She expected that Valentine's relatives would come get the intruder's photographs and personal items.
"I've given them until Tuesday," Mitchell told the newspaper. "Come Wednesday, I've got to move this stuff out and try to work myself back into my life
"I noticed a car in the driveway and the windows of the house were open, which freaked me out," Mitchell, 46, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I had left everything shut up."
Mitchell quickly backed out of the driveway, hitting a tree twice, and dialed 911.
Douglas County Sheriff's Deputy Chuck Haralson went into the house and found a different Beverly naked in the shower — 53-year-old Beverly Valentine, a stranger to Beverly Mitchell.
"In 28 years, I've never seen something this strange," said Chief Sheriff's Deputy Stan Copeland.
It turned out that this funny Valentine had moved her own furniture and her dog into the house, switched the utilities to her name, taken Mitchell's family photos down from the walls, worn Mitchell's clothes, installed a washer and dryer, ripped up carpeting and begun to lay down floor tiles.
"She had two, maybe even three different types of tiles," Mitchell told the newspaper. "That's just out of this world."
Valentine first said she'd been in the house two weeks and had gotten in by breaking a window with a shovel. Then she said she'd lived there two years.
Finally Valentine admitted she'd just needed a place to live, saw that no one was home at Mitchell's house, "and she just moved her things in the house," according to the sheriff's report.
"Some people have suggested," Mitchell said, "and I agree, that she probably thought this was her home."
In Valentine's car, authorities found a gun and $23,000 in jewelry belonging to Mitchell. She was charged with burglary and held in the Douglas County Jail in lieu of $25,000 bail.
"What she's done is really make a mess," said Mitchell. "She repainted around the fireplace, and there's paint all over the brick. I'm going to have to get somebody to probably sandblast stuff like that to get it off."
Asked if she'd keep any of Valentine's remodeling work, Mitchell responded, "It's not my style."
Mitchell said she is sympathetic to the plight of Valentine, who was apparently recently evicted from her own home about 20 miles away, but thinks she may have already gotten help.
"She's saying she moved by herself, but she didn't lift a washer and dryer by herself," said the angry homeowner. "And she didn't lift a sleeper sofa by herself. Did she just hire some local help or was there somebody else involved?"
As for the washer and dryer, Valentine told authorities she didn't care what happened to them, so police are leaving them in Mitchell's care.
"I'm hoping maybe 'Extreme Makeovers,' somebody like that, will get in touch with me," Mitchell said. "It's a bizarre story, and they always want bizarre stories."
She expected that Valentine's relatives would come get the intruder's photographs and personal items.
"I've given them until Tuesday," Mitchell told the newspaper. "Come Wednesday, I've got to move this stuff out and try to work myself back into my life
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