We always tell our children that there’s no monsters under their beds, or hiding in their closets. And that’s true. But there may be a weird guy living in their closet and trying on their clothes. Personally, I’d rather have the monster. But this is exactly what happened to two college students in North Carolina. Household items and clothing were disappearing, and hand prints were being left on walls and mirrors. The girls thought they had a ghost, until they investigated further…
It’s Drew, the creepy ghost squatter who likes to wear your clothes!
GREENSBORO, N.C. (CNN) – “Creepy” doesn’t even begin to describe a story out of North Carolina.
Two female college students say intruders kept breaking into their apartment but they had no idea how. Then one student came face-to-face with an intruder, in her closet.
“Since I’ve been having like pieces of clothes missing. Like shirts, pants, etc.,” Maddie, break-in victim, said.
Items kept disappearing and prints were left behind.
“I have a hand print on my bathroom wall and on my mirror.”
It wasn’t until Saturday that Maddie, a junior at UNCG, uncovered a mystery she and her roommates thought was a ghost.
“I just hear rattling in my closet. It sounds like a raccoon in my closet. Put my hand on the knob and I’m like ‘who’s in here’ 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 has a book bag full of my clothes.”
Police say that man was 30-year-old Andrew Swofford. He appeared via video conference from the Guilford County Jail.
“He had these pants on, like, actually on his body.”
Maddie called her boyfriend and as she calmly waited for help, she talked with Swofford to keep him distracted.
“He tries on my hat, goes in my bathroom and looks in the mirror and then he asked like ‘you’re really pretty, can I hug you?’ But he never touched me.”
The big question the girls are trying to get answered how he got inside. They say their doors are always locked and they did not see any damage to them.
What really scares the girls is that men have entered their apartment before.
“It was two guys in the living room.”
That was December 19th.
The girls alerted the leasing office and an employee confirmed they changed the locks at that time but did not file a police report. That is standard protocol, according to the leasing office.
Maddie and her roommate say they can’t take it anymore.
“Last night, I did not feel safe. I slept with my roommate in her bed. I can’t stay here. My closet, it stinks, I don’t like, every time I go in there it’s like ‘ugh.’ It’s a bad vibe. That’s why I’m ready to just leave.”
Swofford faces 14-felony charges, including larceny and identity theft. His bond was set at $26,000.
Property managers are still investigating how he, and the other two men, got inside the apartment.
So thankfully, their apartment wasn’t haunted. But far more frightening, it seems like men keep getting into their apartment. It’s a good thing they changed their locks, but I don’t blame them one bit for being freaked out. Having someone break into your home is such a violation. And when they wear your clothes and use your bathroom? I’d have to move.
