Massachusetts landlord enters attic to check water leak, ends freeing a woman from a 6-week-long nightmare: ‘We’ve heard rumors about that house’

A water leak brought a landlord and her husband to a multifamily home on Summer Street in Malden, Massachusetts, on Sunday. While looking for the source, they entered an attic where nobody was supposed to be living.

According to NBC News, property owner Qing Sun found a woman and a man inside. The man ran past the couple, and they called 911. Police then removed the woman from the property. Prosecutors allege she had been kept at the property for about six weeks.

Jordende Pierre, 29, now faces charges of trafficking a person for sexual servitude, kidnapping and indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or older. Malden police, the FBI and U.S. marshals were among the agencies that arrested him on Thursday. He is being held until his next hearing in the Malden case on Oct. 6. These charges are allegations at this stage and have not been tested in court.

Prosecutors say woman was found malnourished in the attic

Prosecutors described the woman’s condition at a court hearing. She was found naked and malnourished on a mat, and authorities found a 5-gallon bucket containing urine nearby. Middlesex County Assistant District Attorney Jacob McCrindle told the court, “She clearly had not eaten. She was dirty. She was living, essentially, in squalor in this attic area.”

According to prosecutors, Pierre met the woman on a dating app and took her to the home about six weeks earlier. They say she struggled with substance abuse and was given drugs there. They also allege he sexually assaulted her and forced her into encounters with other men. “The defendant would arrange for those dates,” McCrindle said.

Prosecutors also explained how they believe she was kept inside. “The door handle in this attic area, it could be removed, and the defendant would remove that door handle so that she could not leave,” McCrindle said. Allegations of people being prevented from leaving private homes have surfaced in other recent hostage cases, though the circumstances differ.

Sun lives off-site but manages the units. She told NBC Boston that tenants initially prevented the couple from accessing certain rooms while they searched for the source of the leak. The couple eventually reached the attic. The circumstances also resemble other cases in which people were reportedly kept hidden inside private homes, with an unrelated event eventually leading to their discovery. The discovery came largely by chance.

Sun said Pierre was not one of her tenants. “This guy is not on the list. I’m not aware this guy is living there,” Sun said. She added that she knew of no one living in the attic. “It’s a disturbing situation,” she said, adding that she was also relieved to find out what was going on. She now checks the property nearly every week. “I’m very happy to be able to help this young girl get back to her family,” Sun said.

The allegations stunned people nearby, though some neighbors said the house had drawn attention before. “We’ve heard rumors about that house in the past,” neighbor Tarra Sewell said. Another neighbor described the people coming and going as “kind of a rotating cast of characters.” Neighbors also reported parties and loud music, including on weeknights, and said police had responded to earlier complaints.

Neighbor Kirby Tang said the distance made it harder to accept. “I just feel sorry for her; like, she was 500 feet away, and we couldn’t do anything,” Tang said. “Because we didn’t hear anything.”

Pierre also has an open case of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in Somerville, and he had been out on bail. Police have not ruled out additional arrests in the Summer Street investigation.