Homeless woman arrested after living undetected in man's closet for a year

Friday 30th May, 10:44 AM JST

FUKUOKA —

A homeless woman who sneaked into a man’s house and lived undetected in his closet for a year was arrested in Fukuoka Prefecture after he became suspicious when food mysteriously began disappearing.

Police found the 58-year-old woman Thursday hiding in the top compartment of the man’s closet and arrested her for trespassing, police spokesman Hiroki Itakura from southern Kasuya town said Friday.

The resident of the home installed security cameras that transmitted images to his mobile phone after becoming puzzled by food disappearing from his kitchen over the past several months.

One of the cameras captured someone moving inside his home Thursday after he had left, and he called police believing it was a burglar. However, when they arrived they found the door locked and all windows closed.

“We searched the house ... checking everywhere someone could possibly hide,” Itakura said. “When we slid open the shelf closet, there she was, nervously curled up on her side.”

The woman told police she had no place to live and first sneaked into the man’s house about a year ago when he left it unlocked.

The closet is part of a Japanese-style room, one of several rooms in his one-story house where the man lived alone—or so he had thought.

Police were investigating how she managed to go in and out of the house unnoticed, as well as details of her life inside the closet, and if she had taken anything else besides food.

She had moved a mattress into the small closet space and apparently even took showers, Itakura said, calling the woman “neat and clean.”

Latest 15 of 41 Total Comments Show All

electric2004 at 12:59 AM JST - 31st May

There was the story of Edogawa Ranpo about a main living in a sofa-chair. Maybe she got the idea from there.
electric2004 at 01:12 AM JST - 31st May

Correction: ... about a man living in a sofa ...

... Edogawa Rampo ... 江戸川乱歩, born Tarō Hirai (平井太郎)

"The Human Chair" (人間椅子 Ningen Isu, October 1925)
vultor at 04:52 AM JST - 31st May

According to police, from time to time, the man noticed food missing from his refrigerator, so he installed a security camera.

How about locking the doors and windows?
nimbus at 05:36 AM JST - 31st May

Here's an article from Yahoo! that tells a little bit more about this story.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080530/aponreas/japanclosetwoman;ylt=AqFI8Yxt057w0NHJ1eIEtvaA8F
MadamK82 at 06:24 AM JST - 31st May

I'm guessing that maybe she did all of the bathroom and food stuff when he would leave for work or go to bed. There's a good chance she'd have the house to herself for at least a couple of hours a day if he lived alone. And I have two rooms in my house that currently aren't in use. I don't check those closets every month let alone every day...although I might start to now...
zaichik at 07:27 AM JST - 31st May

More info here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2054057/Homeless-woman-comes-out-of-closet.html
raymech1 at 08:06 PM JST - 31st May

Kind of weird that this story, out of all recent stories in japan is making news here in the states
capone at 09:48 PM JST - 31st May

more info from foreign media than local...typical
Zaphod at 09:54 PM JST - 31st May

raymech1:

Not really. I mean bloody murders are regular newsfare over there too, but a woman secretly squatting in someones closet for a year? I have never heard anything like that before.
Sarge at 11:37 PM JST - 31st May

"How about locking the doors and windows?"

I guess he'd already tried that.
Falcongrl89 at 12:44 PM JST - 2nd June

I read this on Yahoo news!! XDDDD; I can't seem to understand why this woman would Hide in the Closet just to live there..Weird... >>;;;
Ivespoken at 01:15 AM JST - 3rd June

I feel so bad for that lady! She should of found another place to live not in anyone's home, but at least she didn't cause any harm. And she was clean so that should give her some good points. But more importantly why couldn't she have gone to a shelter? There's shelters over here in America! I'm sure they have something like that over there in Japan!
telecasterplayer at 03:00 PM JST - 3rd June

While technically, a crime was committed, exactly what good is police involvement and a jail term going to do, even if for a few months? She'll be older and still homeless.
nisegaijin at 10:29 AM JST - 4th June

well, she will have a slight larger closet now, called jail.
Hughgarse at 05:50 PM JST - 4th June

should`ve robbed a bank at knifepoint or something if she really wanted a place to stay for a while.