KTRK/HOUSTON – A young woman’s worst nightmare unfolded on video. She witnessed a break-in that was more than trespassing. It stole her peace of mind.
For several weeks, the woman, who we’re not identifying, came home to lights left on in her apartment. Something didn’t feel right.
“That’s not something that I do. I don’t leave lights on,” she said.
So she turned detective, buying a motion-activated video camera that looks like a digital clock. Appropriately it’s called the ‘What Really Happened While You’re Away’ camera, but in this case, what really happened while she was away was worse than she imagined. It was terrifying.
On November 15, while she was at work, the camera captured images of a man entering her apartment appearing to use a key. He leaves, then returns and walks right into a trap.
“Right by the door was the sofa, so I laid some lingerie and other things on it and so it worked,” she said.
He handled the lingerie, put on a camisole and underwear, and engages in self-gratification. Before he left, he arranged the underwear as he found it.
The next thing the camera captured is the woman returning from work. She plugged the camera into her computer, and saw the video of a stranger and screamed on the phone to her boyfriend.
“I could barely get the words out to tell him what happened,” she said. “All I kept saying is ‘He’s in my house. He’s in my house.'”
The intruder left before she got home, but the damage had been done. She left her apartment that night and hasn’t returned since.
“I don’t trust people as much and I don’t feel comfortable being alone,” she said.
Houston police are investigating, but according to the law, what happened here is unlawful entry — a misdemeanor. We showed the video to a sex offender counselor who works with the state of Texas. She says it could be more than a fetish or fantasy.
“When does he have to go up to the next level and when is that going to be?” wondered sex offender counselor Susan Burns. “Is he going to be hiding in her apartment when she comes home?”
The charge could be elevated to more than a misdemeanor. That’s because police say neighbors saw the man sitting in his car twice, watching her as she would leave for work. Police also say an X-rated videotape was left on the ground beside the woman’s car.
“I actually think the guy was stalking the woman,” said Sgt. Bobby Roberts with the Houston Police Department. “I believe with the people I’ve talked to, I can make that charge and fortunately, stalking is a felony offense.”
He’s not believed to be a maintenance worker. If he had a key to the apartment, police don’t yet know how he got one. DNA evidence and fingerprints have been collected and then there’s the video. All that’s missing is a name to go with the picture.
A Crime Stoppers reward of up to $5,000 is being offered for information that leads to an arrest and conviction. If you have any information, you’re asked to call Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.