EXCLUSIVE
A young teacher has told how she is too afraid to sleep in her own apartment after waking up to an intruder trying to climb into her window.
Simone Wilkins, 28, who until earlier this month lived in the second floor apartment in Sydney’s Bondi Beach, was woken up on Monday, September 11 at about 2.45am by a loud rustling in the tree outside her open window.
When she went to investigate, she was confronted by the silhouette of a man’s head level with hers.
Police are now investigating a series of similar break-ins involving young female victims in the exclusive Sydney suburb, who claim a mysterious figure was watching them sleep.
So far no forensic evidence has been recovered from any of the scenes, but Ms Wilkins is hoping a discarded pair of black gloves she found outside her apartment could provide key clues for detectives.
‘I saw the silhouette and I just jumped up and slammed the window shut with such force it cracked the glass,’ Ms Wilkins told Daily Mail Australia.
‘I screamed and ran out of the room. It was just like a horror movie.’
Simone Wilkins (pictured), 28, who until earlier this month lived in the second floor of a short-term rental in Sydney ‘s Bondi Beach, was woken up on Monday September 11 around 2.45am by a loud rustling in the tree outside her open window
Ms Wilkins said she is a ‘deep sleeper’ and the man must have been making a lot of noise in the tree to have woken her.
‘He was watching me sleeping,’ she said.
‘I know that because he was there at the window, which was terrifying. I was just shaking – in total shock.’
Ms Wilkin’s screams woke her flat mate and they both hurriedly checked all the windows and locks in the apartment.
But the horror of the evening intensified when she shared her story on a local Facebook page to warn others – only to have two separate women privately message her to report similar creepy experiences.
‘The break-ins were exactly a week apart at the exact same time, around 2.30am – 3am, which is bizarre,’ said Ms Wilkins.
‘All three of us live within a five minute walk of each other. One of the girls lives a street away from me.’
Ms Wilkins (pictured) shared her story on a local Facebook page to warn others. But she was horrified when two other women came forward to report they had experienced an intruder attempting to break into their homes that same evening
Ms Wilkins claimed the other two women were too traumatised to speak about the incident out of fear the intruder might strike again.
‘They experienced the same thing as me, the same watching in the window,’ she said.
‘He actually got into one of the girls apartments before she screamed and he fled.’
Ms Wilkins, who works as a teacher, is now back at home in the Gold Coast for the holidays.
However, she won’t be returning to the apartment.
‘I thought Bondi was safe, like I never had a worry at all,’ she said.
‘But I guess there’s lots of weirdos around.’
Pictured: An ariel view of North Bondi
Ms Wilkins (pictured) said she had the horrifying sense the man had been watching her sleep
Ms Wilkins stayed in the apartment for several days after the incident but was barely able to sleep because of the fear he might come back.
‘I just could not look at the window without thinking about his silhouette,’ she said.
‘Until the day I left I could not open the window or the blind.
‘I sometimes left work early, came home and slept during the day so I could then be awake at night. That’s how terrified I was.’
Ms Wilkins said she noticed something odd in the days following the incident.
‘I don’t know if I was paranoid or not, but a few days later when I was walking down the street, I found a pair of black gloves on the ground thrown on the ground,’ she said.
She took a picture and shared it with police.
Ms Wilkins said the other victim had told her the police forensic unit recovered no fingerprints from the house the intruder had broken in to.
A spokesperson for NSW Police said: ‘Officers attached to Eastern Suburbs Police Area Command have received a report and are conducting inquiries.
‘Anyone with information, or who wishes to report an incident to police, is urged to contact police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.’
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