Woman finds opossum sitting on pillow, moves out of apartment

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC/Gray News) - An Alabama woman planned to move out of her apartment for her safety and that of her three young children after she found an opossum in her bed.

Keontranice Bester found an opossum on top of her pillow March 31, right as she was headed to sleep. She and her three children lived in HighPointe Apartments in Birmingham, Alabama.

“I had just made that bed,” Bester told WBRC. “Flick the light on. The little opossum just crawled on through. When he seen me, he just turned, and I’m thinking he’ll be more scared of me than I am of him... Well, all right then, buddy, you can have this. This is your room because I’m about to go.”

The opossum forced Bester out of not only her bed and her room but also her apartment. She ended up wanting to leave the complex due to the creature and a mold issue.

“He just sitting up there like he own it,” Bester said. “Like, if you want to pay this rent, buddy, so be it. I don’t even feel comfortable staying here.”

Bester and her children, ages 2, 4, and 5, began staying at her mom’s place.

“I have three smaller kids,” she said. “That’s a safety hazard, you know? Immune systems are not as strong as they used to be, right along with COVID and new viruses and strains coming around. I wouldn’t take a risk. I wouldn’t take a chance.”

Bester first noticed a hole in a wall just hours before finding the marsupial. She said she believes something chewed the drywall to get through.

Bester said a maintenance worker came out to capture the opossum that night, but the hole in the wall remained for days. It was worrisome to the mother because other animals could make their way inside.

“As you see, that same hole is still there. Nobody came out,” she said on Wednesday.

Alongside WBRC’s Lauren Harksen, Bester spoke to the HighPointe property manager and got a form releasing her from the lease with no penalty. She will also get her deposit back.

The mother said she is ready to move forward and find a better environment. She hoped to be completely moved out by the weekend.

The property manager said it was an unfortunate situation, adding they work to address every situation in a timely manner.

Copyright 2023 WBRC via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.