Student Finds Thief in Closet; Intruder Escapes With Money

A freshman woman studying alone in her room heard a suspicious noise, looked in for closet, and found an unidentified, middle-aged man hiding there Wednesday night.

The woman, Nancy J. Covello '87, said yesterday that although the intruder did not threaten or harm her, he had stolen $4 and ransacked several drawers in her four-woman Wigglesworth suite before she discovered him around 6 p.m.

Covello said she looked in the closet, in the common area outside the door to her bedroom, after she heard a strange noise and watched the door slowly open.

When she saw the suspect, Covello recalled, "I screamed and started to run. It was almost like I started to run from instinct.

"I ran into the middle room and he said, 'Wait, Miss,' and I stopped. He said he had gotten locked in and was looking for Thayer Hall."

Confidence

The suspect then fled, Covello said. Working from her description, police prepared a composite sketch of the suspect. Harvard Police Deputy Chief Jack W. Morse said yesterday. He added that the door to the suite had been unlocked.

Ellen S. Raphael, the Senior Advisor for Wigglesworth, yesterday termed the incident "frightening" and said that residents in the entryway have been warned to keep their doors locked.

Covello theorized that the suspect had been rifling drawers in the suite when one of her roommates returned home, forcing the intruder into the closet. She came home, her roommate left, and the suspect was trying to slip out when she discovered him, Covello speculated.

Covello described the suspect as a Black male with a medium build and short afro, approximately 30 years old, wearing and olive green jacket and olive green shirt with dark pants.

Other incidents reported to Harvard and Cambridge Police during the period from March 30 to April 5 included:

Fiddle Riddle: Police reported that someone took a 1928 replica of a Stradivarius violin, valued at $1,500, from the Adams House dining hall between 6 p.m. and 7:20 p.m. on March 18. "We're still looking for it," Deputy Chief Morse said yesterday.

Tresspassing: Three men were arrested this week for allegedly trespassing on Harvard property after previously being warned off, police said.

In addition, Harvard police reported warning seven people off Harvard property this week.

Thefts: Two wallets containing a checkbook, cash and I.D.'s valued at $50 were reported taken during dinnertime Wednesday from the cost room of the Harvard Union, police said.

The thefts were among eight of more than $100 and 12 of less than $100 reported to Harvard Police during the week ending Thursday.