Featured Image Credit: Montgomery county DA
Topics: Netflix, True crime, Crime, Property, US News, Film and TV
Liv Bridge
Topics: Netflix, True crime, Crime, Property, US News, Film and TV
Fans of a Netflix true-crime series say the show sheds light on the sinister reality of murderous roomies.
Sharing an apartment with a buddy or a lodger is more common than ever, with 31.9 per cent of US households considered 'doubled up,' meaning living with at least one adult who isn't a spouse, partner or student.
Pew Research Center said that's almost 79 million of us compared to 55 million back in 1995 in the heyday of roommate-centric sitcoms like Friends.
Yet not every situation is a Friends-like fairytale, as is starkly exhibited by Netflix's true crime docuseries, Worst Roommate Ever.
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The anthology TV series that first hit our screens in 2022, and returned in 2024 with a 100 per cent Rotten Tomatoes score, lifts the lid on some real-life housemates from hell, from conmen to murderers.
However, one story - the case of Jamison Bachman - is so harrowing that the show dedicated two episodes to it, and it's here where people are questioning what they describe as outdated American housing laws.
Back in 2017, Alex Miller posted an ad about her spare room in her condo in Philadelphia which was promptly answered by a man, who identified himself as a lawyer from New York called 'Jed Creek.'
Miller rented him the room - but things took a turn for the worse when he argued with her about the pet cat he suddenly moved in - and about paying the rent.
Over time, his torment ramped up, moving furniture, being aggressive and erratic and refusing to pay bills by bringing up his tenancy rights.
The woman eventually found out Creek's true name and identity - Jamison Bachman - and discovered he was actually a serial squatter that she couldn't legally remove.
As explained by a US property expert on YouTube, there's a difference between a squatter and a trespasser, as the former involves someone staying in the property for a lengthy period of time.
The squatter might do so by moving clothes or personal items into the home.
However, the YouTuber said court orders are usually required to evict them and can be a 'long drawn-out process' which cops can't help with.
Dozens of viewers have taken to Reddit to share their dismay at the 'crazy' story of Bachman - and of the apparent triumphant rights squatters have in the US.
As one person wrote: "I am so angry at the incompetence of police officers and the scary laws America has. As a British person, I’ve never heard a story where someone who moves into another persons home has more rights than they do? It’s crazy what the hell."
"I hate how these victims have lost their homes due to stupid laws," they added.
Another said the problem is so large that 'some people are professional squatters,' adding: "It's its own niche enterprise."
Even more said they were disturbed by the fact the 'roommate' had more power than the owner, as shown by his eagerness in rearranging the furniture and removing Miller's house plants.
"Chilling honestly," said one, while another wrote: "Honestly season 1 scares me - homeowners [are] really powerless."
"I'm all for tenant rights but cases like this really expose how flawed our legal system is," one viewer wrote.
"We need to get rid of squatters rights," penned another, "or at least make it legal to 'take care of it' ourselves."
However, it is perhaps not so simple, as another explained: "Squatters rights are important to protect the vulnerable," yet, as the series shows, is "too often abused by people being a menace."
As per the end of the episode, we learn Miller did manage to finally evict her nightmare tenant - but not without risk to herself.
Bachman eventually went to jail after slashing Miller's leg with a knife, and later reportedly murdered his own brother, who bailed him out but had refused to let him stay in his home.
He reportedly took his own life before his trial commenced.
Worst Roommate Ever is available to stream on Netflix.