A friendly morning greeting to a fellow commuter on her daily trip to work led to a Montgomery County woman coming home to a burglarized home months later, all of her underwear stolen, and a disturbing display of her photo on the dining room table, the district attorney says.
Police arrested Kornwell Chan of Dresher, Pa., Thursday on charges of burglary, criminal trespass, stalking and related offenses, according to District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman.
Chan and the victim took the same train into Philadelphia every morning and, beginning in mid-October, the two would exchange greetings as they waited for the train at Oreland station, according to the DA.
After a few weeks, Chan began acting more familiar with the woman, making her feel uncomfortable. She began avoiding any chance of running into Chan, Vetri says.
Over Christmas break, the woman came home to find someone had broken into her house. The only items stolen from the home were the woman’s bras and underwear, according to Vetri.
Perhaps most disturbing: All of the framed family photos in the house had been turned face-down, except for a photo of the victim. That photo was moved onto the dining room table, standing all alone.
During the investigation police discovered surveillance video showing Chan making multiple attempts to locate the victim or her car at the train station, in the weeks after the burglary. Police also discovered that Chan called the woman’s house nine times during the days between Christmas and New Year’s, Vetri says.
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When police finally searched Chan’s home they found the victim’s bras and underwear.
Chan was arraigned Thursday, with bail set at $100,000.
