The homeowner said the man first fled after she screamed, then opened the front door again while she waited for police.
SOUTH FULTON, GA — A South Fulton woman said she escaped her home twice after waking up June 28 to find a masked man inches from her bed, then seeing him return through her front door with a spare key.
Melody LaCoste said the break-in happened about 3:30 a.m. at her home near Cedar Grove Road. The case drew new attention Monday after LaCoste described the encounter publicly and said she was shaken by the intruder’s return, her injuries during the escape and questions about how police handled her first account.
LaCoste said she was asleep when she sensed someone in her bedroom. “Just like a presence. And I woke up and he was moving,” LaCoste said. She said she opened her eyes and saw a masked man standing close to her. LaCoste screamed, and the man ran down the stairs and out the door. She said she then hurried downstairs, locked the front door, called 911 and sat on the staircase while waiting for officers to arrive. Moments later, she said, she saw the doorknob turning and knew the person outside was not police because no officer had announced themself.
LaCoste said she pulled back a curtain and saw the same man at the door. This time, she said, his face was uncovered. “We looking at each other like this. He’s looking at me. I’m looking at him,” she said. She said the door then opened, and the man rushed past her and went back upstairs. LaCoste ran out of the house, tripped and fell in the yard. She said her elbow was bleeding and her foot was twisted. Unable to move, she said she was outside wearing only a tank top and underwear and feared the intruder could come back toward her.
About a minute later, LaCoste said, the man ran back out of the house and disappeared into the darkness. Police later arrived at the home. LaCoste said officers did not believe part of her account because she first told them the intruder had burst through the door. She said a relative later noticed a key in the top lock of the door. LaCoste said it was the spare key she had kept under the welcome mat. She now believes the intruder found the key and used it to enter the house more than once.
The case centers on a home in the City of South Fulton, a metro Atlanta city in Fulton County. LaCoste’s account places the first encounter inside her bedroom and the second at the front door while she was waiting for police. No arrest was reported Monday, and the name of the man LaCoste described was not released. It also was not clear whether investigators had recovered fingerprints, video or other physical evidence from the home. LaCoste said she plans to add cameras after the encounter.
The City of South Fulton police chief told WSB-TV that he is looking into the incident and how an officer handled the call. The department’s public directory lists Keith Meadows as chief of police. No court records, formal charges or suspect description beyond LaCoste’s account were reported in the initial public story. The next steps include any police review of the 911 response, any follow-up interview with LaCoste and any investigative work to identify the man she said entered the house.
LaCoste said the encounter left her frightened and injured. “My elbow was bleeding pretty bad and I twisted my foot up,” she said. She said the sight of the key in the lock changed how she understood what happened that night. “That old school stuff don’t do it anymore,” LaCoste said, referring to leaving a spare key under a welcome mat. She said she is beginning trauma therapy after the break-in and the second escape from her home.
As of Monday evening, police had not announced an arrest. The department’s review of the response and any public update on the investigation remain the next milestones in the case.
Author note: Last updated July 6, 2026.