BERKELEY, Calif., July 15 (Berkeley News Online) — Berkeley police are treating a fight over the Marin Avenue home of slain UC Berkeley professor Przemyslaw Jeziorski as a civil dispute, even as the family’s attorney says people without permission have moved into the house.
Here is what is known, and why the case is more complicated than a typical burglary report.
What is a squatter?
A squatter is someone who lives in a property without the owner’s permission. A tenant is someone who says they have a lease or another legal right to be there. That difference matters because police often handle crimes, while courts handle ownership and eviction disputes.
In this case, the family says the issue is not just trespassing. It says the house at 1998 Marin Ave. in Berkeley has been tied up in a legal fight after Jeziorski’s death.
What does the family say happened?
Family attorney Erin Stratte says Jeziorski and his ex-wife, Konstantina “Nadia” Michelidaki, owned the Berkeley home and other properties. Stratte said the couple bought the house in 2014 and used it as an Airbnb.
Stratte said the family first learned there might be squatters in early January, after someone inspecting the property found signs that people had been living there. She said the family then contacted the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office and began legal steps to remove the occupants.
Stratte has also said the family is still paying the mortgage on the house.
What did Berkeley police say?
Berkeley police spokesperson Byron White said officers responded at about 2:24 a.m. on Dec. 4, 2025, to a reported burglary at the home. White said four masked suspects allegedly kicked in the front door, fled before officers arrived and could not be stopped after police tried to pull over the vehicle.
White said a woman later arrived at the house that same morning and told police she was renting a room there from the landlord. According to White, she said she moved in on Oct. 1 after an August tour and had paid $30,000 up front for a one-year lease plus a $500 deposit.
White also said that on Jan. 29, a person representing the homeowners contacted police about possible squatters. Officers found a man and a woman at the home who said they were renting it. White said investigators could not verify either side’s claim to possession, so police treated the matter as civil.
Why does that matter?
When police call a dispute civil, it usually means the fight over who may live in the home has to be sorted out in court. That can make the process slower than a criminal case, especially when one side says there is a valid lease and the other side says there is not.
Stratte has said the family believes the lease claim cannot be true. The reporting also says the family argues Michelidaki was in custody in Greece in connection with Jeziorski’s killing, although no primary Greek police or court record was provided in the material reviewed for this article.
What else does the family say about the house?
Stratte said the property has been damaged, including a historic wall near the house, and that repairs could cost thousands of dollars. She also said neighbors reported seeing people removing items from the house and selling them.
The family has said the situation is especially hard because the home belonged to Jeziorski, whose death left the family dealing with both a personal loss and a property dispute.
What is the timeline?
- September 2025: Jeziorski’s brother, Lukasz Jeziorski, inspected the home and found it empty, according to Stratte.
- Around Thanksgiving 2025: Another person inspected the house and also found it unoccupied, Stratte said.
- Dec. 4, 2025: Berkeley police responded to the burglary call.
- Early January 2026: The family says it found signs that someone had been living in the house.
- Jan. 29, 2026: Berkeley police responded again after the homeowners’ representative reported possible squatters.
- April 21, 2026: Eviction notices were filed against the woman and another person living at the home, according to court documents.
One important point is still unresolved: the public record in the supplied material does not show a final court ruling on who has the right to stay in the home.
Why are people watching this case?
The Berkeley dispute highlights a common problem in property fights: once someone claims to be a tenant, the path to removal can shift from police action to a slower court process. In a case like this, the questions are basic but important — who owned the home, who had permission to live there, and whether any lease was valid.
For Jeziorski’s family, the house is now part of a broader legal and emotional fallout after his death. For police, it has become a case where possession claims have not been easy to prove either way.
