Surprise guest: Woman accused of illegally moving herself, 11 dogs into Paradise home
Break and enters are common, but how about someone moving into your house?
It's a Goldilocks scenario that Barry McCarthy of Paradise said happened to him.
"I bought from the real estate and the next thing you know, there's a lady in me house," McCarthy told CBC News on Tuesday.
"Ended up coming in from Bull Arm from work, and here's a lady staying in my house, sleeping in me bed. You don't hear tell of that stuff in the movies."
Previous owner couldn't let go
Regina Caspar-Coultas, 53, is accused of the August 2015 break-in. According to McCarthy, she was able to convince a locksmith to get her into the house through the back door.
McCarthy said he doesn't know how long Caspar-Coultas was in the house, but said she lived there previously, until her marriage broke up and the property was sold.
"The lady thinks she owns the house," he said, adding that before the break-in, Caspar-Coultas would come by and put flowers on the front step and rearrange the lawn furniture.
He said when she moved in, she wasn't alone.
"She had 11 dogs with her, staying in my basement. Little Chihuahuas or something, I don't really know what they are."
It's likely that they were Chihuahuas. Caspar-Coultas was a breeder.
Friend heard dogs barking
McCarthy said he learned of the break-in from a friend who had gone by the house.
"A buddy of mine stopped in there and realized that there was someone in there saying 'shush.' And the dogs were barking. And so he contacted me," said McCarthy.
"I was in Bull Arm, and I said 'I got no woman there, and I got no dogs.' I said 'get back down there.'"
McCarthy said the police had Caspar-Coultas out of the house by the time he arrived.
She is also charged with attempting to break into the house a second time, on November 1, 2015, and with breaching court orders.
Two previous trial dates have come and gone.
On Tuesday, she was supposed to stand trial at provincial court in St. John's, but her lawyer, John Noonan, raised concerns about her mental health.
Noonan said he has doubts about Caspar-Coultas's ability to understand the law and participate in her own defence.
Judge Lori Marshall ordered a psychiatric assessment on Wednesday morning. The court will then decide how to proceed.
