I went to bed around 1am and woke up to find a male figure leaning over my bed, lifting the sheet with his hand. I screamed out, “what the fuck are you doing” and kicked him. I made contact, but it wasn’t hard enough because he turned and ran. I wrapped the sheet around myself, grabbed my cell phone and called 911. Then I locked myself in the bathroom.
The first cop came with a dog to trace the guy’s scent. A couple of minutes pass and I hear barking. Another cop arrives and asks if feel up to trying to identify who broke in. I say yes, and we go over what happened. I hear more barking. We get in her police car and drive to a nearby parking lot where she asks if I recognize the perpetrator.
I have a motion-activated nightlight in my kitchen that sheds a little light into the bedroom. This turned the guy’s face and body into a silhouette so I was unable to see any details or identifying features, other than his general height. So I tell the cop that I’m unsure if it’s the same guy, it could be, but I wasn’t positive. We drive to another parking lot where I’m faced with a second suspect. I don’t recognize him either.
I was stupid - I left the sliding glass door unlocked. He opened it and walked right in. I was told this isn’t the first time this has happened in this complex. Apparently there have been other break-ins…he’s even jumped onto second floor balconies to enter people’s apartments. My laptop was a foot away from where he came in, my purse on the floor by the door…he had absolutely no interest in anything other than me asleep in the other room.
I’m more angry than I am upset. I was shaky and crying at first, but now I am just pissed. At myself for being stupid enough not to take precautions. At this scum for violating my privacy, my sanctuary. At my complex for not thinking it necessary to warn us that there’s been more than two break-ins by some pervert who just wants to get his rocks off.
The cops have just left. The forensic unit did a thorough job of collecting prints and taking photos. I can only hope he was stupid or rushed enough to leave some evidence behind.
OMG! I’m glad you’re ok, LunaV. That had to be a horrible, VERY scary experience! You did good, though…aside from that not locking the door thing. Let us know how things turn out! I hope they catch the bastard!
Wow! Extremely happy to hear you’re OK. That’s just too creepy. I’ve been burgled when I wasn’t home and I know how upsetting that is, I can’t imagine what I’d feel if I woke up to find someone in my house. Hope they nail the bastard.
Oh, geez. That can’t be good for the old sense of security.
Still, as nonacetone says, you did right (barring having, say, a gun under the pillow or something more appropriate for paranoids). I agree; it’s creepier that he had no interest in your stuff.
This had been happening in the Seattle area for a few weeks. They caught the guy, because someone, just like you screamed, and kicked and scratched. She scratched his face. The next day she saw guy the next day with scratches in the same place on his face, and called police. The scratches were her only means of ID. The skin under her nails matched his DNA.
Keep your doors locked, and remember, you did the right thing.
Thanks everyone. While I take a small satisfaction in the fact that I yelled and lashed out, I still feel so **stupid ** for not locking up. I won’t make that mistake again.
It took until there was light outside to fall asleep, and even then I must have woken up every half hour. My sense of safety is badly shattered; I’m going to do what I can to regain it. Wooden dowels for the sliding doors and windows, more nightlights, and a door alarm.
I will certainly keep everyone posted as to what happens.
Tomcat, my google ads are for prostate cancer…maybe they are trying to tell me I should have aimed lower?
Seriously, I’m glad you’re OK but what an awful thing to wake up to!
It does suck that your apartment complex didn’t warn people about this guy. Maybe you could get a community meeting going so that everyone knows. You can probably get a community relations person in the police department to help you.
Also, there’s these alarms made for sliding doors and windows that are pretty cheap. One half sticks on the window and the other half on the frame. When the halves slide apart an alarm sounds. You might want to invest in some, then even if you forget to lock a door or window, you’ll have warning that something is going on. And the bad guy will probably run off.
In my nightmares I can never scream when needed. I sometimes wonder if your scenario happened to me if I’d be all frozen and unable to scream or move. Yikes!
I would have been just like you, if it hadn’t been for my husband teaching me to put those dowels and big metal stick thingies in all the sliding doors and windows. I’m from the country, where nobody locks up (because if anyone breaks into your house, you know who it is, and even if you somehow don’t see who it is, the neighbours will tell you).
I don’t need to tell you to lock up next time, and be safe! How creepy.
picunurse, I’d been hearing about that but didn’t know they caught the guy. Excellent, and quick, clear thinking on the woman’s part!
Well, I may have not done the same thing as you did but instantly evacuating my bowels may have made the guy flee as well.
I had a neighbor in an apartment complex and she had the habit of leaving her keys in the door. I worked at a movie theatre so I would come home late and her keys would be in the door lock. It got so I just put them on the counter near her door on the inside and locked it for her.
You might want to contact the local news and tell them your story. People should have some warning that this pervert is on the loose. It’s good that you were able to defuse the situation, but someone who is bold enough to break into someone’s home and enter her bedroom may well escalate his behavior.
