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Invaded: A victim's account of being attacked by a prowler
The following is a first-person account from a victim of one of the recent prowler incidents that have occurred in Leesburg and Ashburn Farm. The writer is not named because she preferred to remain anonymous.On Aug. 13, I drove from North Carolina up to Ashburn. I arrived at my mother’s place around 8:45 p.m. – she lives in a carriage house style condo in a nice neighborhood adjacent to the W&OD Trail. It’s a two-bedroom with a loft, the perfect size for a grandmother living alone who occasionally needs an extra bedroom for one of her kids or grandkids.
My mom was in her “sitting room” when I arrived -- the ground floor bedroom. Although it has a day bed in it, it’s also where she has her favorite chair, her knitting supplies and a television. I set down my bags and said hello. We chatted briefly, then adjourned upstairs to her bedroom so I could check my e-mail on her computer.
Around 11 or a bit after, we both went back downstairs. I realized I hadn’t eaten since noon or so, so made myself a piece of toast. My mom said her goodnight to me as I was finishing up, and went back upstairs to bed.
Although I was tired, I wasn’t quite ready to sleep. I checked out my mother’s bookshelves to see if she had anything I wanted to read, and eventually picked something out. Then I went into the downstairs bathroom and got ready for bed. The house was a bit warm and I knew I’d be up well before my mom, so I decided to sleep in the buff.
I undressed in the bathroom and then realized that the curtains in the bedroom were open. They don’t face the street – instead they face the neighbor’s unit, and she was away – but all the same, I held clothes in front of me as I went over to close the curtains. As I did so, I noticed that one of the windows was open. I looked at the screened opening before closing the curtain, and the only thing that passed through my mind was that it might provide a breeze to cool things off. I knew the AC was off and that I was going to have a hard time sleeping in the warmth of the house, so I left it open.
I read for a little bit, then got up and turned out the light. It was around midnight or maybe a quarter past when I turned out the light. At some point I’d also turned out the living room and kitchen lights.
As I expected, I was having a hard time sleeping. Even with a fan on, the bed was warm. I kicked off all the covers except the sheet and tried to find a comfortable position. Just when I finally managed to drift off, I heard a crash. Startled by the noise, I sat up and looked around – and saw something move very quickly away from one of the windows (the closed one).
I was then able to identify the sound as that of knitting needles hitting the ground. My mom has two or three soft plastic vase-like containers of them sitting on the windowsill next to her chair. I figured that one of the two cats must have knocked it down, and the motion I saw was it running away from the noise. I briefly considered getting up to put it back, but then decided I was too tired – I’d do it in the morning. I laid back down, not looking forward to trying to get back to sleep. Fortunately, it didn’t take too long.
I was dreaming, I thought. I felt light pressure on my groin. I moved, and it went away. I felt something on my mouth. I tried to move it away, it wouldn’t move. Someone was in the room with me ... there was no one in the house but my mother.
“Mom?” I asked, still mostly asleep. I heard a voice speaking to me, but I couldn’t understand the words.
The pressure on my mouth increased – with both hands now I reached up, starting to panic. There was a hand on my mouth ... I fought it off, still not understanding what was going on.
“Mom?” I said again. The hand was gone now – and I could see a figure there in the dark, standing over me.
“Mom? Is that you?” There was no response. “Who are you?” I asked, but there was no response. He just stood there by the bed, hands slightly out to the side, as if he was waiting to see what would happen next.
That was the moment I truly became fully aware. This wasn’t my mom standing over me. It was a stranger, someone who had just had his hands on me, covering my mouth and trying to keep me quiet. I couldn’t see much of him – he was in dark clothing. He wasn’t tall, and had a somewhat stocky build. It looked like he had a stocking cap on – the top of his head was smooth. I screamed, as loud as I could.
As soon as I started screaming, the figure turned and fled – bending over slightly and running out of the open window. I continued screaming until my mother came down the stairs to see what was wrong. She quickly called 911 once I told her.
The police tell me that he was probably watching me before I got into bed, through the sheer curtains in the living room, and the sliding glass door that looks into the kitchen. I’d been careful to close the curtains in my bedroom, but I didn’t close the curtains in the rest of the house – and he could have “tracked” me throughout the house.
Since the window was open (he cut the screen out), it was simple for him to get in. The crash I heard was probably him knocking over the vase of knitting needles, not the cat.
The following day, we discovered the light bulb missing from the lamp on the table by the window. He didn’t want me to turn on the light and see who he was.
I’ve learned from this experience. It could have been worse – I’m lucky it wasn’t. I hope others learn from my mistakes as well. Don’t make yourself a target. This was a crime of opportunity – he probably saw me through the sheer/open curtains from the bike path shortly before I got into bed. That’s scary enough – but if I’d closed and locked the window, I would have been safe.
Never again will I sleep with a window open – no matter how cool the night or how high the energy bills.
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