‘Mortifying’: OK woman breaks into rental home, showers before being kicked out

NORMAN, Okla. (KFOR)- A family rented a Norman AirBNB over Thanksgiving and was awoken in the middle of the night by a stranger showering.

Molly Woodrow is the homeowner and has owned the property for over six years.

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Woodrow told KFOR she was looking to make extra cash, so she decided to rent her home out on AirBNB. Her first guests stayed over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Woodrow got a strange call around 4:30 a.m. from her guests who claimed a woman broke into the home.

Surveillance video from around 2 a.m., installed by Woodrow a day prior to her guests arriving, caught a woman peeking through the front windows.

The footage shows the woman then opening the front door and seemingly looking around behind her to see if someone noticed her.

The woman, now identified as Keri Horn, then allegedly went inside. The footage provided to News 4 doesn’t show her actually going inside the home.

The surveillance video only takes 10 second snippets, according to Woodrow.

Woodrow said the front door was unfortunately left unlocked, and that’s how Horn was able to get inside.

Woodrow said Horn appeared to be inside the home for over two and a half hours before being caught, according to surveillance time stamps.

“Around like 4 a.m., she started taking a shower and that woke our guests up to like a terrifying feeling because we’re like, ‘Who is in our shower right now?’ And so the guests enter the bathroom and they found the homeless woman showering. It was just mortifying for them,” stated Woodrow.

Surveillance video then shows one of the guests throwing Horn’s belongings on the porch and gesturing she come outside.

“Don’t be weird, okay?,” said the guest.

“I know. I don’t wanna be a weirdo,” replied Horn.

Woodrow called Norman Police on behalf of her guests.

“No injuries were reported as a result of this case. Minor property damage was reported as a result of this case,” the police report reads.

Within a matter of days, Norman Police identified Horn and have now requested an arrest warrant be issued for her.

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Horn has a lengthy criminal history across multiple counties in Oklahoma. She has previously been convicted or plead guilty to possession of meth, assaulting a police officer, and defacing property.

“We are really lucky that the situation didn’t end a lot differently,” said Woodrow. “This area has just gotten unpredictable.”

Woodrow did issue the family involved a full refund.

“It’s just really heartbreaking because I love Norman. I’ve been here for so long and I don’t want to move somewhere else, but there’s really no other resource. The residents that live down here are suffering from all of these crimes that are committed by the unhoused,” added Woodrow.

News 4 asked if she has ever attempted to voice her concerns over the unhoused population to the Norman City Council. She said no, but only because she claims a majority of members on the City Council are “pro-unhoused” and she feels as if her concerns fall on deaf ears.

Woodrow said she wants something to change though and wants to know what council members plan to do moving forward to protect taxpayers.

News 4 emailed all eight Norman City Council members as well as the Mayor. Ward 1 and Ward 8 Council members, Austin Ball and Matthew Peacock have responded.

“I just found out about this incident [Sunday] and understand the victim’s frustration because she is 100% correct. Our current councilors and those who are enriching themselves with the help of this city’s homeless policies through the suffering of our homeless, mentally ill, and taxpayers have created an extremely hostile environment for any citizen who tries to speak out,” stated Ball.

He said he has received reports of a Norman homeless shelter and food pantry in constant violation of health and safety codes. He claims the city “overlooks those.”

“I’ve also received reports that there are those within our police department who give false information to those who report crimes by the homeless and have also received reports of officers being reprimanded for pursuing crimes committed by the homeless or assisting citizens who are the victims of these crimes. There are many fine officers who I have talked to that feel their hands are tied and are afraid of retaliation if they pursue any police action in regards to our homeless,” explained Ball. “The incident you are referring to is actually just one more example in a long list of these crimes and I have numerous emails and communications with business owners, homeowners, and citizens of Norman who have reached out to myself for answers which I cannot provide because of being blocked by the rest of our council and certain members of our city leadership.”

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Peacock told KFOR the City of Norman is currently exploring several initiatives which focus on treating the root causes of the issue, such as mental health and addiction treatment, as well as housing affordability.

“I understand that the current situation in Norman is not sustainable, but this is a nationwide crisis not unique to Norman, and it’s going to take everyone working together on compassionate solutions, not fighting each other on who’s solution is right. There is no silver bullet to fix homelessness, and residents must recognize that what works for one, likely doesn’t work for everyone. What does work though is that we are all committed to making Norman the best city that it can be for all of it’s residents, and I welcome an open dialogue with anyone that is focused on positive solutions,” added Peacock.

City of Norman Mayor Larry Heikkila’s office sent News 4 a press release around midnight on Tuesday as their comment. The release is dated November 17.

“For over a year I have tried to build bridges with members of our City Council who have differing viewpoints. I have compromised with our City Council. I have tried to reason with our Council members, yet, those efforts are continually undermined and manipulated. The end result is a Norman that many of us no longer recognize. Our citizens and people who visit Norman no longer feel safe in many areas of Norman. Those areas are continuing to grow,” said Mayor Heikkila.

He noted the current homeless shelter location is not acceptable and contributes to “many problems” the city is facing.

“It must be moved,” stated Mayor Heikkila. “We see panhandling and vagrancy throughout our city. People no longer want to go to our state of the art public library because of vagrants, the homeless, and a recent shooting. It doesn’t feel safe or clean and the chairs smell of filth.”

He added while treating symptoms of homelessness, the city is not curing the problem.

“This is not a government responsibility but responsibility of charities and the private sector. The majority of council, supports spending millions of tax payer dollars on homeless rather than on infrastructure for the common good. We protect them from the elements and from the consequences of their lifestyle. Norman is a law abiding community. We will enforce our laws and ordinances regardless of anyone’s housing status,” said Mayor Heikkila. “Things must, and will immediately change.”

In the meantime, Woodrow said she plans to continue renting out the property, but will secure the home with more locks.

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