A man appears in two still images after breaking into a house in Coatesville, Penn. on Dec. 24, 2023. (Coatesville Police Department; Tiffany Szabara)
A specter is haunting Pennsylvania — or, at least, a hoodie-wearing man is doing his best to frighten the wits out of one family in a small town in the Philadelphia suburbs of Chester County.
The man in question has reportedly broken into the same residence over and over, according to the Coatesville Police Department.
And, what’s more, the man allegedly had the same specific room in mind each time he gained entry to the home on Pennsylvania Avenue: the bedroom of the 9-year-old girl who lives there.
“He’s coming in and having conversations with her,” Tiffany Szabara, the girl’s mother, told Philadelphia ABC affiliate WPVI.
“He’s going straight to my daughter’s bedroom at the top of the stairs and watching her sleep,” the worried mother added.
According to Szabara, the unwanted visitor has broken into their home on at least four occasions beginning in September this year. The last time he came in was during the early morning hours on Christmas Eve, she said, when the man walked through her kitchen and was caught on surveillance footage. That footage was then shared with police who released still images of the suspect later that same day.
“We are seeking the public’s assistance in identifying the subject,” police wrote in a Facebook post. “Like many, we are concerned and patrol officers & detectives are interested in obtaining additional information.”
In the footage, the man, wearing a light-colored hoodie, enters through a kitchen door, then later leaves the same way, closing the door behind him. In comments to WPVI, Szabara said the man is typically gaining access through the house’s back door. She attributed his first alleged entry into her home to a malfunctioning lock.
That first time, she told the TV station, she figured the man was just drunk and mistaken. But then it happened again and again — and again.
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On two other occasions, the man gained entry because the back door was accidentally left unlocked, Szabara said. On yet another occasion, the man allegedly climbed through a window to get into the house.
“I even had cash on the counter one day, and he didn’t touch the cash. He just goes into my daughter’s bedroom,” she told WPVI.
The continuous presence of the uninvited man has raised uncomfortable questions for the family and broader Coatesville.
“You know, if this man is so determined to target my daughter, what else could he be doing?” Szabara went on to ask out loud.
After the repeat break-ins, Szabara told the TV station, she decided to outfit her home with additional locks and surveillance cameras.
But those measures have not quelled the fear.
“I do feel like he’s watching us at this point and that there’s something going on,” Szabara told WPVI. “And that he’s targeting my daughter.”
Police are reportedly interviewing the family about the incidents and adding additional patrols to the area near the Szabara residence.
Law&Crime reached out to Coatesville police for additional details about this story but no response was immediately forthcoming at the time of publication.
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