I was assaulted in my own home. The perpetrator lived next door.

I woke up at around 2:00 AM to someone shaking me. At first I thought my boyfriend, John, had woken me up for some reason, but he was passed out beside me. I was confused and immediately panicked. I thought it was a dream at first, but the shaking never stopped. I sat up and saw a man standing in front of me. I couldn’t see his face clearly, but I remember him being tall, thin, and having dark hair. I started screaming. I don’t know how long this lasted. I was too panicked to keep track of time. I only stopped screaming when he left my room. I crawled into John’s room with him and woke him up. I was crying and hyperventilating. He heard me crying and woke up. He immediately called 911. The police arrived at around 2:45 AM and searched the entire apartment complex. They didn’t find the suspect. They asked for a description of what he was wearing. From my recollection, he was wearing a blue shirt, black pants, and a red baseball cap. The next day, I went to the police station to give a statement. I met with Detective M. He asked if there were any suspects and if there was anyone I had a grudge against. I mentioned a man named Michael that lived next door. I had seen him around but never had any issues with him before. He had a history of violence and had gotten into trouble with the police in the past. Detective M said he was going to do some research on Michael. The next day, he called me and asked if he could come over. When he arrived, he sat John and me down in the living room. He said that he had spoken to Michael and he admitted to breaking into my apartment. Detective M told me that Michael said he was motivated to break in by a comment I made to my neighbor about having a stalker. I thought this was strange. I had never mentioned this to Michael. I had only made this comment to one other neighbor. I asked Detective M if he could speak with this other neighbor, which he did. This other neighbor said that she had also noticed Michael staring at me on multiple occasions. She also mentioned that Michael would make comments to her about me when I was in my apartment. He would say things like, “I could break into that apartment at any time. She will never know.” She also mentioned that he had made comments about my boyfriend and how he was a “pretty boy.” Detective M said he would arrest Michael, but he needed another witness to confirm his story. I agreed to speak with him again. Detective M said that he would bring him to my apartment and I should just ask him questions. Michael came to my apartment later that day. Detective M stood at the door. I asked him if he had broken into my apartment. He said that he had and he would do it again if he had to. I asked him why he did it. He said, “You had a stalker. I was making sure you were okay.” I asked him if he knew about my comment to the other neighbor. He said he had overheard her talking about me and my comment about having a stalker. He said he was just trying to be nice. The next day, he was arrested and charged with burglary. I never saw him again.

I was assaulted in my own home. The perpetrator lived next door.

Comments (785) 24053 👁️