A South End family already grappling with Mass and Cass spillover was horrified to learn that a homeless intruder squatted in their home while they were away last weekend — bathing, eating their food, and sleeping in the main bedroom.

Emilie, a 37-year-old mother of two who asked that her last name and exact address not be published out of fear for her safety, said she was out of town at her parents’ house when she was alerted to the mess unfolding at her Worcester Square condo.

Her brother-in-law, who had asked to spend the night at her home on Saturday, called to let her know that when he arrived and went to the bedroom to change, he quickly caught sight of someone running by him and darting out the front door. He chased the woman away and then proceeded to call the police, she said.

“It became clear as the police were investigating that she had been there for an extended period of time,” Emilie said. “She had drawn herself a bath, taken a bath, slept in our bed, bled all over our bed. Band-Aids were everywhere. She had obviously rifled through all of our stuff, stole all my jewelry, all of our cosmetics, toiletries, etc,” Emilie told the Herald Thursday.

Emilie suspects that the suspect, a homeless woman, was bleeding because she was doing drugs in her home, and has since replaced all of her bedding, and hired help to disinfect her entire condominium.

The alleged intruder, Katie Mearn, 40, was arrested last Friday for trespassing, malicious destruction of property, and breaking and entering (attempted), in connection with a separate break-in that occurred nearby on East Springfield Street, according to Boston Police. She was released on personal recognizance.

In that instance, Mearn was allegedly seen in one of the beds of the home at around 1:30 p.m. Friday, left the residence, and came back shortly later for her belongings, but was denied entry.

Police had previously charged Mearn with allegedly trying to kick in the back door and attempting to enter the residence, but after further investigation revealed that she allegedly made her way and spent time inside, she was additionally charged Thursday with daytime breaking and entering.

After her release, Mearn was arrested again on Tuesday for two active warrants, a Boston Police Department spokesperson said. Officers responded to the Worcester Square break-in at about 9 p.m. last Saturday, states the police report, which corroborates what Emilie told the Herald.

Emilie said the woman left a bathtub filled with water in one bathroom that she bathed in and had showered in a different bathroom. She used every single towel in the home, and had covered them with “all different kinds of liquids.”

She further applied self-tanner “everywhere” in the home and ate through the entirety of the kids’ snack cabinet, leaving evidence of her feast all over the living room, bedroom and inside the bed, according to Emilie, who has a 1-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son.

Particularly troubling is that the squatter, along with stealing all of her jewelry including the engagement ring she opted to leave at home due to the heat, made off with her car keys, Emilie said.

She said she’s in the process of changing her locks and door codes at home and getting her car keys reprogrammed in case the woman tries to return.

Mearn was arraigned Wednesday in the Central Division of Boston Municipal Court on two active dockets for charges that include trespassing, malicious destruction of property under $1,200, attempt to commit a crime, unarmed burglary and larceny from a building.

She was ordered held on $1,500 bail and is due back in court on July 30, but it’s possible the ongoing public defender work stoppage could lead to her release at that time, as she was without representation at her arraignment, a Suffolk District Attorney’s office spokesperson said.

Between the items that were stolen and the expense she’s incurred to reset security and clean the home, Emilie estimates that the squatter’s home invasion will cost her thousands of dollars. She placed the woman’s stay at roughly 12-30 hours.

“It’s adding up, and it’s all just stuff,” Emilie said. “I’m grateful we’re all safe and didn’t have to deal with that while we were home. It obviously could have been a much worse situation. The neighborhood has gotten increasingly worse and worse, but your home is supposed to be the safe space in it.

“It’s definitely going to happen again — I mean, if it’s not my home, it’s someone else’s,” she said.

The troubling incident is “another example of how the issue is escalating in and around the South End and surrounding neighborhoods,” according to Boston City Councilor John FitzGerald, who represents the area.

He joined two of his Council colleagues, Ed Flynn and Erin Murphy, in swiftly calling for the city to take “immediate” action to address the Mass and Cass spillover that critics say has worsened since the Atkinson Street tent encampment was removed by the Wu administration in late 2023.

“Nobody should have to deal with this level of lawlessness,” FitzGerald said in a statement. “We need to have immediate impactful solutions. A show of tough love now is better than dealing with a preventable tragedy later. Let’s not wait and continue to be reactive.

“We have the opportunity and momentum now to really make an impact and avoid something even worse from occurring,” the councilor said.

Flynn, who represents part of the South End, called the Worcester Square break-in a “terrible invasion of privacy and a criminal act that really is horrific,” but said it is far from an isolated incident.

“The violence and criminal activity is reckless, unpredictable and increasing, and we need to develop a comprehensive public safety plan that addresses drug use, drug dealing and violence in our neighborhoods,” Flynn told the Herald. “The current plan has failed.”

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Murphy, an at-large councilor, called the home invasion “terrifying” and “unacceptable.”

“This is a new level of crisis,” Murphy said in a statement. “For too long, South End families have put up with open-air drug use, mental health breakdowns, and needles on their doorsteps. Now their homes aren’t even safe.

“I have been raising the alarm about Mass and Cass for years, and what we are seeing now is the worst it has ever been,” the councilor added. “We need immediate and coordinated action from the city, the state, and surrounding towns to prioritize both safety and real services. We must finally relieve this neighborhood from bearing the entire burden.”

The mayor’s office said the city has increased public safety enforcement and resources in the area “to meet the scale” of the challenge at and around Mass and Cass, while continuing to partner with the state and service providers to transition individuals into recovery and away from the area.

“This is a horrible situation, and the Boston Police Department took swift action,” city spokesperson Emma Pettit said in a statement. “Officers responded immediately, identified the individual responsible, and have arrested the suspect two separate times since Friday related to these crimes.”

Boston, MA – July 24 – 10 Worcester Square in the South End which was broken into by a homeless woman. (Photo By Matt Stone/Boston Herald)