Man Hid In Ex-Girlfriend's House For 2 Weeks Despite Restraining Order

A Pennsylvania man was charged with burglary and unlawful restraint after he hid in his ex-girlfriend’s attic for two weeks without her knowledge, Pittsburgh police recently said. According to reports late Wednesday, 31-year-old Cary Cocuzzi had a court order that he has no contact with his ex-girlfriend, Katy Flory, 37, of Brighton Heights.

According to a criminal complaint, Cocuzzi was found in Flory's bedroom on April 20. Flory told officers she was alone in the kitchen of her house in the morning when she heard a noise upstairs, local media reported. At first she thought it was a cat. She then went upstairs to her bedroom, and found Cocuzzi emerging from behind her bedroom door.

In her complaint Flory said, Cocuzzi told her to “get over here,” grabbed her and put his hand over her mouth. Flory managed to break free and ran downstairs. She said Cocuzzi followed and grabbed her again but she got away from him a second time. After running to the yard outside of her home, Flory called for help. Several of her neighbors called 911 and reported the incident.

Flory, who told police Cocuzzi had previously assaulted her, had obtained a final protection-from-abuse order against the man on March 25, according to the complaint. The order stated that Cocuzzi must not make any contact with her or her two children. It remains unclear where her children were at the time of the latest incident.

On the day of the incident, Cocuzzi continued to stay in the house even after Flory escaped to her yard. When officers arrived at the scene, they found Cocuzzi hiding under some clothing on the second floor.

After being arrested, Cocuzzi admitted to officers he had stayed in Flory’s house for about two weeks without her knowledge, using an unlocked side door to go in and out. Cocuzzi also said he entered the house because he was tired of being homeless, according to reports.

Cocuzzi was booked into the Allegheny County Jail and granted a non-monetary bond. It’s not known if he has an attorney. His preliminary hearing was set for May 2 in Pittsburgh Municipal Court.

Flory told police she had noticed strange things happening in her home before she found Cocuzzi. She said she found a blanket on the floor and noticed the toilet seat had been moved.

"I feel like this is going to affect me for the rest of my life,” the woman told local media WPXI. "I had an intuition about it but I ignored it, I brushed it aside. I didn’t want to seem paranoid but I should have trusted my instincts because I was right.”