A female student who attends the University of North Carolina at Greensboro was terrified after thinking a ghost was living in her house.
Instead, she and her roommate were surprised when the apparition turned out to be a man who was hiding in her closet and wearing her clothes.
“I’ve been having like pieces of clothes missing. Like shirts and pants,” says Maddie, who told Greensboro (N.C.) television station WGHP about the stealth intruder.
The woman told the station items were regularly disappearing and handprints were left behind on the bathroom wall.
But the two students didn’t learn about the man’s presence until Saturday afternoon.
“I just hear rattling in my closet. It sounded like a raccoon in my closet,” Maddie said. “I’m like who’s there? And somebody answers me. He’s like ‘oh my name is Drew.’ I open the door and he’s in there, wearing all of my clothes. My socks. My shoes. And he has a book bag full of my clothes.”
Police said the man was identified as 30-year-old Andrew Swofford. He appeared in court on Monday via video conference from the Guilford County Jail in Greensboro.
After confronting the man, Maddie said she called her boyfriend. While she waited for help, she said she talked to Swofford to keep him distracted.
“He tries on my hat. He goes in the bathroom and looks in the mirror and then is like ‘you’re really pretty, can I give you a hug?’ she told the station. “But he never touched me.”
The property management company that owns the women’s apartment, Burkely Communities, is attempting to find out how this happened. However, the roommates say they are planning to leave their apartment after the incident.
“Last night I did not feel safe [so] I slept with my roommate in her bed,” Maddie said. “I can’t stay here. My closet, it stinks. Every time I go in [my room], there’s a bad vibe. I’m just ready to leave.”
Swofford was jailed under a $26,000 bond, facing 14 felony charges including larceny and identity theft.
