Tenn. Mother Finds Man Living In Attic Above 14-Year-Old Daughter’s Closet

MT. JULIET, Tenn. (WSMV/CNN) – Investigators in Tennessee arrested an 18-year-old man who they say was living in the attic above a teenage girl’s closet and would come down at night to visit her.

The mother of a 14-year-old girl came home to find 18-year-old Matthew Casto standing at the top of her stairs, according to Mt. Juliet Police. The man reportedly bolted to the teenager’s bedroom and barricaded himself in an attic space in her closet, despite the mother shouting at him to leave.

Casto had allegedly been living in the attic space and came down at night to visit the teenager. Police say the girl’s mother did not know the man was in the attic.

Officers entered the attic space to arrest Casto, who now faces charges of aggravated criminal trespass. He was similarly charged June 2 for unlawfully entering the same home.

Investigators say Casto had been involved with the 14-year-old, and the two ran away together a few weeks before the incident. The man had been ordered at that time not to have any contact with the girl.

Casto’s mother says her son has mental health issues, and the teenager would often call him over to help her with emotional problems. She says her son now knows not to return to the home.