STOMACH-churning pictures reveal the inside of a hoarder’s home that has been at the centre of a neighbourhood dispute for years.
With rancid food, mountains of trash and free-roaming rats, the San Diego house is a dingy, dirty lair.
City of San DiegoA hoarder’s home is at the centre of a neighbourhood dispute[/caption]
City of San DiegoThe bathroom is littered with used toilet paper[/caption]
City of San DiegoNeighbours are seeking a court-appointed cleanup of the home[/caption]
City of San DiegoInvestigators were shocked when they entered the home[/caption]
Despite sitting on a plush street, behind closed doors it’s littered with used toilet paper and “smeared with brown filth”.
Residents in the area have been fighting for decades to get the house cleaned up but its owner, Lisa Golden, continues to live in squalor.
She appeared in civil court this week as her neighbours seek to have a court-appointed cleanup at the home, which they say they have been battling for more than 10 years.
Investigators were sickened by the state of the place, with City Inspector Justin Welker saying in a court document: “Words cannot adequately describe the condition of the master toilet.”
Upon entering the home the home amid the ongoing court clash Welker said they were overwhelmed by a putrid pong caused by rotting food and mold.
He said there were signs of rats also calling the property home although there was electricity, he couldn’t tell there was running water as the sinks and toilets were blocked by piles of trash.
In the bathroom, he said that “words cannot adequately describe” the revolting scene.
Welker wrote: “It was smeared with brown filth, and the stall floor covered in trash, including approximately a dozen used toilet paper rolls and a pile of what appeared to be crumpled up, used toilet paper.”
He continued: “In the bathroom and master bedroom, the smell of rotting food and mold was again present.”
Neighbors have said that her overgrown backyard is more than just an eyesore, as it encroaches onto their property and poses a fire threat.
In his report, Welker found the yard was a fire hazard, as “dead palm fronds were piled up and spread around the walkways and ground and hanging from tall palm trees overhanging onto neighbouring properties.”
He added: “The in-ground pool was partially filled with green water, presumably algae, which is a potential breeding ground for vectors, such as mosquitoes.”
“Several large, filled plastic bags were perched on some kind of platform or furniture item.
“Walkways were covered with lumber, logs, dried vegetation, plastic containers, and other random items.
“Prior to leaving, we saw three dead rats on the ground directly behind Golden’s house.”
Golden told CBS8 that contractors damaged her home when it was subjected to a state-ordered cleaning in 2021, and has filed several lawsuits.
Neighbors also accused Golden of harassing them for years, and some reportedly have restraining orders out against her.
Tensions reached boiling point in footage captured by the outlet as Golden was seen embroiled in a furious argument with a neighbour on the street of their cul-de-sac, where homes routinely sell for over $1million (£793,000).
Locals say they have struggled to stop the hoarding for so long because Golden continues to delay court proceedings.
On Friday, a hearing was intended to decide upon sending a court-appointed receiver to clean the property.
But Golden requested a continuance as she claimed she couldn’t get in contact with her attorney.
In response, prosecutors said it was just another delay tactic, and CBS8 reported that she has often represented herself in other hearings.
Prosecutors added that when they contacted the man Golden said was her attorney, he claimed to not be representing her.
“This case has gone on far too long, the conditions are far too serious to allow it to continue any further,” Deputy City Attorney David Miller said.
Golden claimed in the hearing that she suffers from health issues and mental health challenges.
One of Golden’s neighbors who is seeking to clean up the home said: “The delays and continuances are very disappointing.”
“This is the way she stretches it out, months after months. Usually it’s an appeal after appeal.”
It comes as mummified cats were found by cleaners who were sent to clean a house stuffed to the rafters.
In fact, the Lancashire house was so cluttered cleaners needed a ladder to climb through a second-storey window to reach the upper floor.
Among the rotting debris, cleaners found the bodies of up to four of the owner’s pet cats, which had been placed on shelves and wrapped in newspaper.
The teams were tasked with clearing the home in February after the homeowner, a man in his 70s, had died.
Hoarding as an illness
HOARDING can be better diagnosed as a mental health condition thanks to new guidelines for GPs.
The disorder, which affects around 2 per cent of the population, causes people to clutter their homes so much they can’t move about in living spaces.
But few patients are actually spotted because they often suffer with other mental health issues like obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Now, psychologists have released a guide to help medics recognise and treat the condition.
Hoarding disorder was only recognised as a mental health condition in 2019, having previously been classified as a symptom of OCD.
The new guidelines, published in the British Journal of General Practice, set out how doctors can diagnose it and offer treatments.
While many people resonate with some of these, signs of hoarding disorder include:
Clutter in living spaces, stopping you from being able to cook, sleep or wash
Difficulty discarding items to the point it is distressing
Obtaining too many items to be able to get rid of them easily
Clutter is so much it is distressing you or your family
Clutter is impairing everyday quality of life
GoogleThe home sits on a plush street in San Diego[/caption]
City of San DiegoInvestigators saw signs of rat infestations in the house[/caption]
They also said the property smelt of rotting food and mouldCity of San Diego
One investigator said ‘words cannot adequately describe the condition of the master toilet’City of San Diego
City of San DiegoLocals say they have struggled to stop the hoarding for so long because the owner continues to delay court proceedings[/caption]