A couple returning from vacation were left shaken after discovering a stranger inside their Long Island City , allegedly after a building doorman mistakenly gave the woman access to their home.
According to a by the New York Post, Bill and Yelim Kim were away on July 24 when their home security system alerted them that someone was inside their apartment. When they checked the live camera feed, they were stunned to see an unfamiliar woman walking around their home, helping herself to a drink and relaxing on their couch.
“It was panic, panic, panic,” Yelim said, recalling the moment they saw the woman on the last night of their trip to Yellowstone National Park.
“I was in disbelief. I just could not believe what I was seeing. We can’t help or wonder, what would she have done if we didn’t catch her on camera?” Bill said.
The situation became even more alarming when the woman appeared to notice the security camera and ripped it from the bookshelf, footage showed. “If we didn’t have a security camera set up, would she have just stayed?” Bill said. “This was almost 11 pm at night. Would she have slept in our bed?” he added, as per the outlet.
The couple said their final night of vacation was completely derailed as they screen-recorded the incident and spent several hours contacting police and friends from their yurt in the national park. Yelim said that she had to convince the local police that the incident was not a prank.
Then, two of the couple’s friends reached the luxury apartment building before police arrived. One of them knocked on the couple’s door and confronted the woman. The woman initially agreed to leave but returned minutes later and allegedly used another set of keys to let herself back into the apartment.
“My friend sees her fumbling through keys in her hand. So there was more than one [set of keys], and she uses one of them to open the door and come in,” Yelim said.
Police arrived shortly afterwards and the woman was taken away in an ambulance.
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Woman returns to the apartment 2 days later
According to an email sent by building management to residents, the woman had allegedly posed as a dog walker for the Kims and was allowed into the apartment by a doorman. The doorman was subsequently removed from the property, while the building said it was enhancing its security measures.
However, the woman reportedly returned to the building two days later. She allegedly claimed she was there to see someone and attempted to enter before being turned away.
“We were scared. I had like a full stomach ache when I saw her,” Yelim said, adding that she could not believe the woman had returned.
Yelim said that the woman was wearing the same dress and heels as during the initial incident and appeared “really distressed”. Bill said she was also wearing a hospital bracelet and appeared to have been discharged from the hospital before returning to the building.
The woman has not been identified or charged. The NYPD is investigating the incident as a burglary. The couple said none of their belongings was stolen.
