Feb 27, 2008 9:59 pm US/Pacific
Villa Park Home So Dirty It May Be Destroyed
VILLA PARK, Calif.
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This home in Villa Park, Calif. is so filthy, city officials are debating whether or not to destroy it.
CBS
Sheriff's investigators are determining if the state of a filthy Villa Park house occupied by a 76-year-old woman and her son constitutes elder abuse, authorities said.
After Mary Maloney suffered a medical emergency earlier this month, her son Kevin fell under scrutiny when the condition of their home on Center Drive was reported to city officials.
At least 16 cats were discovered at the house when the sheriff's department served a search warrant on Feb. 6.
"We're looking at it as possible elder abuse," Orange County sheriff's Lt. Hal Brotheim said. "The city was talking about razing the house. There's going to be meetings on it next month."
Four cats were found dead in the home, including one found in a piano.
According to pictures broadcast on local news, the home had cobwebs stretched across cabinets and feces a foot high in some places. One station reported that their couch was soaked in urine.
Claudia Avilez, who works in the area, told a local station that the smell reaches outside.
"It smells like pet odor, pet urine," Avilez said. "It smells really bad and that's from the outside. I can't imagine the inside. Villa Park is a very prestigious neighborhood and I can't image what happened in this house."
The house was red-tagged by city officials.
Villa Park City Manager Ken Domer said the house is "an absolute mess."
"I went in it twice and and I will not go back in," Domer said. "The general filth, the cobwebs, the fleas. You're looking at removing dry wall, treating the cement flooring, removing insulation."
The house apparently has no lighting or heating, the kitchen has no running water, and the toilets are not working properly.
City officials will hold a hearing on March 11 to determine if the house should be considered a public nuisance, but it may be up to the owner to decide if it is worth cleaning up or tearing down.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
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