On July 24, while Bill and Yelim Kim were on vacation, a security camera in their Long Island City luxury apartment building alerted them to a stranger sitting inside their home. The couple later learned the woman had been given access after saying she was a dog walker.
Security camera footage reveals intruder
When the Kims checked the footage, they were shocked to see an unfamiliar woman seated on their couch. Bill Kim said he was initially in disbelief and that the couple wondered what might have happened if they had not received the camera alert, particularly because the incident occurred close to 11 pm.
The couple later learned the woman had told building staff she was a dog walker. According to emails from the building’s management obtained by a report, a concierge employee handed her the apartment keys without properly verifying her identity. The Kims said they had never authorised a dog walker to enter their apartment while they were away; Yelim Kim said they had never had a dog walker come to their home when they were not there, and Bill said they had never authorised any guest to enter the apartment.
Surveillance footage showed the woman inside the apartment, and the couple said she damaged a bookshelf while trying to remove their security camera after discovering it. Police later responded to the apartment shortly before 11 pm following a report that someone had entered the home without permission. The same woman returned to the building two days later but was not allowed beyond the lobby.
Yelim told reporters she felt “freaking traumatised” by the experience. While the investigation continued, the case left the Queens couple with a troubling question: how easily could a stranger gain access to their home simply by claiming to be someone they were not?
