In a bizarre case from 2009 that continues to capture public fascination, a New York City man uncovered a shocking apartment creeper living undetected in his apartment after noticing his food kept disappearing.
Actor Joe Cummings, who was living with his girlfriend at the time, became suspicious when items from his kitchen began vanishing without explanation. After confronting his girlfriend and receiving firm denials, Cummings installed a hidden camera in the kitchen to find the source of the problem.
The footage revealed an unsettling discovery: a woman, completely unknown to the couple, was living in a concealed storage loft above the kitchen. In the video, the woman can be seen climbing down from the loft in the middle of the night, urinating in the sink, rummaging through the fridge, and helping herself to food before retreating to her hiding place.
The intruder, now being described as an “apartment creeper,” had managed to go unnoticed for what police estimated to be at least two weeks. Officers later found that she had created a makeshift living area with a blanket in the crawl space, which had no external ventilation.
According to Cummings, the woman remained mostly silent during her removal by law enforcement. Authorities believe she may have initially broken in through a window, likely via the fire escape, with the intention to steal—only to decide to stay hidden instead.
This case is not an isolated incident, police said, noting that similar reports of apartment creepers have occurred in the past. Cummings chose not to press charges, saying he felt pity for the woman.
The unsettling incident has since been widely shared online, with many viewers expressing shock at how long the apartment creeper managed to live undetected.
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