TORONTO -- An Ontario family who fired their live-in nanny said they couldn't believe when the woman barricaded herself in one of their bedrooms for over a week.
Father Ryan Milnes, who lives in Kleinburg, Ont., with his wife and three young children, hired a new nanny earlier this year after their previous one left.
After interviewing several new candidates, Milnes said they settled on a woman who would begin work on Feb. 1.
"The first week she was amazing, we thought we got so lucky," Milnes told CTV News Toronto on Wednesday. "But after that, we started slowly noticing things. She would spend days in her bedroom and not come out."
Milnes said the odd behaviour continued to escalate, including one time when she spent $800 at Indigo on gifts for his children, using his debit card.
After a month into the job, Milnes said he and his wife had a conversation with the nanny about how to improve but things only got worse. Eventually, one night, just before the Easter long weekend, they were forced to tell her the job wasn’t working out and that they no longer required her services.
"We said we would give her 30 days extra pay but we told her we wanted her out by the day before Good Friday," Milnes said.
"That Thursday (before Good Friday) comes around and she tells my wife 'You can't kick me out because of COVID.'"
"The next day she doesn’t reply to us through the door or text. We noticed we couldn’t see under the door. She stacked up boxes to block the view."
Milnes said he contacted York Regional Police on April 10 and told them about the situation. He said officers came to the home and negotiated with the woman, who said she would only leave if the family gave her $3,000 and paid for her to stay two months at a hotel.
"I felt like I was being extorted," Milnes said.
Milnes said he would only agree to pay $2,000 and put her up in a Wasaga Beach apartment that he had access to. He said they agreed and the police left but then the woman cut off communication again.
They were forced to call the police again the next day when the nanny refused to leave.
"Three officers came," Milnes said. "They talked to her. Basically told us that she doesn’t want to leave and there is nothing they can do about it because of the (Residential Tenancies Act)."
The police left again and Milnes said he started researching legal options. In the meantime, he said he cut off her WiFi access and cell phone plan, which he also paid for.
He said he slept in one bedroom with his wife and three kids out of fear she could hurt them in the night. He said he installed a security camera outside her door that would notify them if she left the room.
Feeling like he had no other options, he posted about the ordeal on Facebook. His brother-in-law replied with an idea and they came up with a plan.
On April 18, Milnes said his brother-in-law came to house and they decided to take back what was theirs inside the nanny’s room. They removed the door and took her bed.
Meanwhile, Milnes said the nanny called 911 and told police a break-and-enter was in progress.
He said police came to the home and when they arrived, helped to negotiate a deal. With police assistance, Milnes said the woman eventually agreed to leave.
"When our officers arrived they found that this incident was an ongoing dispute between homeowners and a former employee who had resided with them and was no longer welcome in the home," York Regional Police said in a statement to CTV News Toronto.
"Our officers stood by and maintained the peace while a mutually agreed upon arrangement was made between the homeowner and the former employee."
"No charges were laid."
Milnes said when the nanny left, the room was a complete mess and that she had been cooking using a hotplate in the en suite bathroom.
"It was like we were living through a reality TV show. I just couldn’t believe this all happened to us."
The family has since hired another nanny to help around the house and Milnes said things are going well.
