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Ugly act haunts fixed-up house

Moved by the work of those who repaired vandals' damage, Trina Odom still isn't sure she'll move in.

By S.I. ROSENBAUM
Published December 24, 2005

RIVERVIEW - The house smelled of new carpet and new paint.

Trina Odom stepped inside.

In her mind's eye, she could still see the racist words written on the walls. She could still see the ruin someone made of her home.

But now it was all gone. The walls were cream-colored and blank. The holes punched in them had all been filled in. Cabinet doors were back on their hinges. The new carpet, unblemished.

"It was overwhelming," she said Friday. "Shocking. But a good shock. ... It's a brand-new house."

It has been almost exactly a month since vandals ravaged the first-time homeowner's new house on Tribute Drive, where Odom planned to move in with her 12-year-old daughter.

At 11 a.m. Friday, she inspected the repairs.

Workers had labored into the night, polishing windows and mowing the grass, putting the finishing touches on the restored house, neighbors said.

Their efforts paid off: The house was perfect, Odom said.

But she's still not sure if she will move in.

Whoever attacked her home is still at large. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office has not identified a suspect.

"We're still making a plea to the public, but unfortunately we have not made an arrest," sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said Wednesday.

Odom said the idea of the vandal returning frightens her. And she's haunted by the image of the wrecked house.

"It's still not gone," she said. "It's hard getting to that point where you don't see those images anymore. I'm hoping and praying I can get to that point, where I don't see those images in my mind."

She said her daughter has been disturbed by the crime. "Kids are pretty resilient, but they do keep things bottled up," Odom said. "She wants to be safe, and she wants to be happy, and she wants a home of her own again."

Now that the house is repaired and the television crews are gone, Odom said she feels she has "a chance to exhale" and plan for the future.

Whether or not she decides to live in the house, Odom said she's determined to give those things to her daughter.

"Wherever we are will be a place where we can be happy and safe," she said. "It will be a home, not just a house."

Anyone with information about the crime is asked to call the Sheriff's Office at (813) 247-8200 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-8477.

Times staff writer Rebecca Catalanello contributed to this report. S.I. Rosenbaum can be reached at 813 661-2442 or srosenbaum@sptimes.com

[Last modified December 24, 2005, 01:09:13]