Serial burglary suspect found hiding in woman’s closet armed with pizza cutter

‘It’s just like your worst nightmare, you know?’ the neighbour who discovered the intruder said

Woman arrested for burglary after being discovered in neighbour’s closet (Irvine Police Department / Facebook)

A California woman discovered her neighbour, who is accused of being a serial burglar, hiding in her closet — wielding kitchenware.

Wendy Wilkinson, 43, was found in Brittney Heinzman’s walk-in closet in Irvine on 1 December. Ms Wilkinson was holding a pizza cutter, cutting board, and a kitchen towel, CBS News reported.

“She was in the corner of my closet,” Ms Heinzman told the outlet. “It’s just like your worst nightmare, you know?”

Both women live in the same apartment complex, Ms Heinzman said. After being away for a week, Ms Heinzman said that she came home to her apartment — which she remembered locking — to find thousands of dollars worth of belongings missing.

But Ms Heinzman emphasised that the scariest part was seeing her neighbour in the closet. She said she discovered the woman squatting in the corner of her closet, saying, “Don’t hurt me, don’t hurt me.’”

Ms Heinzman then ran after Ms Wilkinson, according to a Facebook post by Irvine police.

Irvine police then arrested Ms Wilkinson. She has pleaded not guilty to charges of burglary and unauthorised use of personal identifying information.

Irvine Police Department’s Kyle Oldoerp told the outlet that the pizza cutter incident probably wasn’t the first time Ms Wilkinson had been in that apartment: “Based on the time that the victim was away and the amount of property that the suspect was able to steal, we believe it’s likely the suspect went into the residence multiple times to collect items.”

Police found more than $30,000 worth of Ms Heinzman’s belongings, KTLAreported.

Ms Heinzman said, “She took sunglasses, she took Dior handbags, she took Chanel handbags, she took socks, she took my work ID, my work badge, my passport, my credit card that she decided to use the next day.”

Court records reveal that Ms Wilkinson had been previously charged with burglary. She is next scheduled to appear in court on 13 December.