A man sneaked into his ex-girlfriend’s house and lived there in secret for three weeks before confronting her in her bedroom, according to police.

Cary Cocuzzi, 31, is said to have surreptitiously moved into the attic of the 37-year-old woman’s Pittsburgh property despite being banned from contacting her because of his abusive behaviour.

The alleged victim first became suspicious someone else was living there when she found a blanket lying in the corner of her basement.

She then noticed the toilet seat had been left up at the home she shared with her two daughters.

“I had an intuition about it but I ignored it, I brushed it aside,” the woman told the local WPXI TV station. “I just thought: ‘Gosh, is this guy in my house?’

“But what could I do? I already had the PFA [protection from abuse order] against him, and I can’t call the police and say: ‘There’s a blanket in my basement.’

“I didn’t want to seem paranoid but I should have trusted my instincts because I was right.”

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Then on Saturday she was alone in the house, cleaning the kitchen, when she thought she heard her cat moving around upstairs.

When she went to look, she found Mr Cocuzzi standing in her bedroom, according to the authorities.

He allegedly grabbed her and placed one hand over her mouth, telling her to “get over here”.

She broke free and ran downstairs screaming, alerting neighbours who called 911.

When police arrived they found Mr Cocuzzi hiding under a pile of clothing. He told officers he had been sleeping in the attic because he “was tired of being homeless and wanted a place to stay”, it is claimed.

Mr Cocuzzi has been charged with burglary and unlawful restraint and is being held in Allegheny County Jail until his next court appearance.

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His ex-girlfriend said she was “extremely afraid” of Mr Cocuzzi but was thankful that her two daughters were not at home at the time.