[Sportschosun Jang Jong-ho] A shocking photo has surfaced showing an intruder approaching a woman who fled to the roof to escape a man who broke into her home.
The image, which shows the woman crouching on the roof with the intruder searching for her just behind, was taken by a blogger and quickly drew widespread attention.
According to the Los Angeles Times (LA Times), Daily Mail and other foreign media outlets, the incident took place on Sept. 24, 2014, in the Venice area of Los Angeles, California.
At the time, Melora Rivera, then 29 and working as an actress and writer, woke up in the second floor of her home after hearing strange noises near the front door. She was also known to have appeared in the film "Sparkle," which starred Whitney Houston.
After hearing the sound of the front door handle moving, Rivera initially thought a friend had come to visit. But when she checked her phone, she found that no one had announced a visit.
Looking downstairs, she saw a man wandering around the house and muttering to himself.
Rivera first thought it was nothing serious and went back to bed. About 15 minutes later, however, the same man began repeatedly ramming the front door with his shoulder. From an upstairs bedroom, Rivera watched the door bend each time it was hit and called the police.
The intruder then put his hand through a gap and began opening the door.
Sensing danger, Rivera removed the screen from an attic window and climbed out onto the second-floor roof.
The intruder did not give up. He climbed onto the roof and began searching for Rivera. At that moment, a passerby witnessed the scene and took a photo. The image shows Rivera, wearing only pajamas, crouched near the lower part of the roof as she called the police, while the man searched for her behind her.
Police who arrived at the scene shortly afterward ordered the intruder on the roof to come down, while firefighters set up a ladder to help Rivera safely descend to the ground.
Police arrested Christian Hicks, then 29. He was known locally as a homeless man frequently seen in the area and was taken into custody on suspicion of burglary at the time of the incident. He was later sentenced to three years in prison. After the case, he committed additional crimes and was sentenced to 37 years in prison in 2023, where he remains incarcerated.
In an interview with local media shortly after the incident, Rivera recalled that the situation felt "like the plot of a horror movie." She said she was overwhelmed with fear as the man who had broken into her home chased her all the way onto the roof.
The photo has recently gone viral online after local media revisited the case.
Jang Jong-ho bellho@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
