Over a year after UC Berkeley Haas School of Business professor Przemyslaw Jeziorski was murdered in Athens, Greece, his family is engaged in a legal battle against alleged squatters occupying his Berkeley home.
On July 4, 2025, Jeziorski was shot and killed by the boyfriend of his ex-wife, Konstantina “Nadia” Michelidaki, in the midst of a divorce and custody battle. Michelidaki was later found dead in her Athens prison cell, having died by suspected suicide.
Squatters have now allegedly taken over Jeziorski’s home on Marin Avenue, which he and Michelidaki used to rent out as an Airbnb.
“The problem with the law in California as to squatters is that there’s no legal mechanism to remove squatters from the house in a situation where they claim they have a lease,” said attorney Erin Stratte, who represents the Jeziorski family, in an email. “Even when it’s clear that the claims the squatters are making are legally impossible.”
Under California law, landlords using self-eviction through lockouts or utility shutoffs against alleged squatters are illegal, and instead, property owners must provide proper notice, usually a three-day notice to quit, before filing an unlawful detainer lawsuit.
On Dec. 4, 2025, a woman contacted the police to report a burglary at Jeziorski’s home. According to a press release from Stratte, the squatters reported their own burglary to establish occupancy in the house.
A police report states that one of the squatters said they had a rental agreement with Jeziorski, and they were renting the property through March 2026. Stratte claims this is impossible because they could not have been in contact with any of the owners of the home.
“The reality is that it’s impossible that they paid money or entered into a lease with the owners … or any agent of the owners,” Stratte said. “There was no way for anyone representing the family or the family themselves to actually enter into lease.”
According to Stratte, at the time, Michelidaki did not have access to a computer or an English-speaking agent to enter the contract, as she was still in custody in Greece.
In response to the squatter’s occupation, Jeziorski’s family and Stratte filed an unlawful detainer to force an eviction through the court system, but this process can take months.
Stratte said the home is set to be inherited by Jeziorski’s two orphan children, who are currently being looked after by Przemyslaw’s brother Lukasz.
Stratte and the Jeziorski family additionally allege the squatters have sold items from the home and caused thousands of dollars of property damage to a wall adjacent to the home.