NYC Couple Horrified After Stranger Breaks Into Their Apartment and Makes Herself at Home While They're on Vacation
Yelim Kim and her husband got the scare of a lifetime.
Sept. 7 2026, Published 9:00 a.m. ET
A New York City couple on vacation freaked out when their home security camera showed a woman hanging out on their couch, RadarOnline.com.
"It was panic, panic, panic!" recalled Yelim Kim.
A Shocking Discovery and Security Breach
Yelim Kim and her husband, Bill, got the scared of a lifetime while on vacation.
Her husband, Bill Kim, adds: "I just could not believe what I was seeing! If we didn’t have a security camera set up, would she just have stayed? This was almost 11 p.m. at night. Would she have slept in our bed?"
To make matters worse, the squatter found the camera watching her – and ripped it off its spot on a bookshelf.
The horrified couple, both 28, later learned the doorman at their ritzy building in Long Island City, Queens, had given their apartment key to the woman — after she claimed to be their dog walker.
But the illegal entry on July 24 "completely derailed" the final night of the Kims' vacation at Yellowstone National Park, says Bill.
Intruder Confronted
The couple saw an unknown woman lounging on their apartment couch.
They screen-recorded the intruder lounging in their apartment, then spent a frantic few hours calling friends and the local police precinct.
Two pals arrived at the apartment before law enforcement, and one knocked on the door to confront the squatter.
When asked to leave, the woman bolted. But minutes later, she popped up again and used a set of keys to get in.
"My friend sees her fumbling through keys in her hand. So there was more than one [set of keys], and she uses one of them to open the door and come in!" said Yelim.
Soon after, police arrived, and the woman was carted off in an ambulance.
'I’m Freaking Traumatized'
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Building management fired the doorman and increased overall security protocols.
The doorman responsible got the boot, and building bosses toughened up security measures.
Two days later, the woman came back, still in the same dress and heels, and wearing a hospital bracelet, but was turned away at the lobby.
The NYPD is investigating the incident as a burglary. Although the Kims said nothing was taken, they're still shaken.
"I'm freaking traumatized. I definitely feel violated," said Yelim.
The pair is looking to move, says Bill, adding: "It doesn’t feel like a safe space anymore. We can't be here.'
