Squatter who took over dead man’s house finally allows his daughter access to collect family memories
A woman who inherited a home from her late father was allowed into the property to collect her dad's family treasures.
In 2021, Donna Kent's father passed and she inherited his home in New York.
It's thought the property was unoccupied for a period of time, but a squatter - who only gave the name Kyle - has been living there for six years.
Knowing he hadn't been paying rent to live in the house, Kyle admitted that he'd been waiting for someone to turn up; but Donna waited six years to do so.
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With the nature of his occupancy in mind, when Donna finally decided to go to the property the squatter welcomed her in.
“I figured eventually somebody would show up, but nobody showed up,” Kyle told NewsNation. "I understood the situation clearly that somebody would come back and how would it make them feel if I told them I threw away their parents’ property."
Kyle kept Donna's late father's possessions in good condition, with them all being found in tact in the attic of the house.
It's unclear what kind of relationship Donna had with her father, but she said she hoped by finally retrieving the memorabilia would give 'a glimpse into my dad’s life'.
The whole interaction was filmed by a NewsNation camera crew as Donna sifted through her dad's belongings.
"At this point, I’m just sort of overwhelmed to be honest," Donna said upon seeing the piles of things.
At one stage, she found boxes of ashes which she feared might have been her father's or a different person's but, after seeing the address that they were delivered from, Donna came to the conclusion that the remains were likely from deceased pets.
"Makes me feel a little better that it’s pets and not people up here," she said.
As well as ashes, Donna also found dozens of old family photos spanning over decades and her dad's baseball card collection.
While Kyle has been living in the home rent-free for several years, Donna seemed to have no ill-will towards him and said that it was 'nice' that she was able to go into the house and see it for herself.
Meanwhile, Kyle insists that he hadn't done anything illegal.
"I am [a squatter]. Technically that is what it is, but I didn’t break in, and I didn’t come in illegally," he told NewsNation. "It’s just, they stopped coming and collecting rent."
Neither Donna or Kyle addressed if he will continue to stay in the property.
Niamh Shackleton