Friends becoming squatters

[Steve Rountree]

I have googled my question to no avail, and hope someone might be able to help me here.  If i'm in wrong part of forum, please accept my apologies and direct me to where I need to be.  

I own a Home in Louisville Ky and Vacationing in Florida right now.

I'm not a Landlord, but I did invite a family from Church to come move in with me in hope that we could help and benefit each other.  The deal was they didn't have to pay rent or utilities,  later we asked them to pay water, because there are 4 of them, and just me, and that's a lot of bathing and washing clothes.   In exchange for free rent/utilities/internet/streaming services, they would buy food, cook and help me take care of my dogs.  My dogs are what I really needed help with.

There were no contracts written, this was not a rental situation.  My Mother is the one that told me about them looking for a better place to live.  They have 2 boys that are Autistic.   Unless you want to hear the nightmare of all the problems while living there, I won't mention it here, but will gladly include it if for legal reasons or whatever it may be, that might help my situation.

Right off the bat they failed on Food and Cooking, it became a very big issue, that was never met, they did take care of my dogs, until I left to Florida for winter.   I asked if they would watch them while I was gone, and they agreed.  I have 3 dogs, and can't fit them all in my small car.  I went to Florida to help my Mother work on her new winter get away.  and have a bit of vacation time down here.  I have cameras in my home and on the outside, so I checked on my dogs every other day.   I noticed their kids were mistreating them, and at times physically harming them.  They refused to correct the situation, so we had to drive back to Kentucky to pick up my dogs, But after some vile messages from them, we decided the best thing to do was give them 30 days to move, we had a witness with us, and had them sign a paper.

Came back to Florida, and I now keep a watchful eye on my cameras, and record everything I see.  They have their kids damage things like the furniture, walls, and TV.  They keep dishes everywhere in the living room, spilling it on the floor, and keep the house a complete mess.  This never happened before we asked them to leave.  They haven't been out looking for apartments, they haven't brought boxes in, done any packing, and were now past the middle of their 30 days.  I'm concerned they have no intentions of leaving.  

I called the local police for advice, and they told me that it doesn't matter if it's a rental or not, or just friends, I have to legally have a sheriff come out to evict them.  I heard it can take months to do this, going through the court.  I'm shocked to find out that someone who pays no utilities, no rent, and are friends, can do this.

What options do I have?   I thought about shutting off the utilities on the day they are suppose to be gone, but was told by someone I could get in trouble for that because of the kids.  I don't want to see any child suffer, but I don't want to pay mortgage and all the utilities, which everything is in my name, and have them freeload off me.   Can I shut off the utilities that are in my name and I'm paying for?  I fear I will have to make another trip to Ky to take care of this.  

Can someone please offer me some advice on what to do.

Thank You