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Neighbors describe accused kidnapper as ‘strange, very creepy, very paranoid’

Posted at 4:49 PM, Nov 07, 2014
and last updated 2014-11-07 23:20:44-05

ROY, Utah -- Neighbors haven't seen Troy Morley in days.

They slowed down to look at the man's home as they walked by, talking about the crimes he is now accused of.

"Strange," said one woman when asked to describe Morley. "Very creepy, very paranoid."

Neighbors FOX 13 News spoke with did not want their faces shown on TV or their names used, but they described bizarre encounters with him and numerous police calls to his home for family fights.

Related story: Utah man arrested for breaking into Sandy home, kidnapping girl from her bed

One woman said she caught Morley in her backyard after her dog wouldn't stop barking. She spotted him without a shirt or shoes on.

"He said at the time that he thought I had lived alone and he saw a light come on and he thought I was getting broken into," the woman said. "So he hopped the fence."

Another woman said Morley had been caught peering into a neighbor's window. Police reports obtained by FOX 13 News under public records request corroborate her account, describing Morley as admitting to "knocking" on a neighbor's window.

"I made contact with the suspicious person, and he said he thought the neighbor was flashing him so he thought he could go over there and 'get lucky,'" officers wrote. "He said he was on medication and would head to bed. He was notified to stop going to this residence."

In addition to being on medication, police wrote, Morley had been drinking.

In May, police responded to a report of sexual abuse accusations being leveled against Morley. However, the police report states the alleged victim refused to proceed with charges and so police could only document a complaint.

A week later, a police report said officers had Morley involuntarily committed to the psychiatric unit of Ogden's McKay-Dee Hospital after believing his wife was being "cut up with saws" by a "big conspiracy." His family told officers he had suffered from paranoia and bipolar disorder, and had used methamphetamine.

Court records show a pair of divorces and only DUIs for criminal convictions. Morley was being booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on suspicion of kidnapping, burglary and interfering with an arrest after police said he broke into a home and snatched a 5-year-old girl from her bedroom before being caught by officers.

He was taken to a hospital to be treated for a bite from a police K-9 before being taken to jail.

"I heard it on the news this morning," said one woman, walking by Morley's house. "I'm glad the little girl is OK."