Bug infestation leads to the discovery of a body in a Williamsbridge apartment

A resident of a Williamsbridge apartment building tried to report a bug infestation and a strange odor to her case manager and the police. She says little was done, until a body was found in one of the apartments.

News 12 Staff

Oct 14, 2022, 2:26 AM

Updated 780 days ago

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A resident of a Williamsbridge apartment building tried to report a bug infestation and a strange odor to her case manager and the police. She says little was done, until a body was found in one of the apartments.
In July, Lauren Facciola, a nurse and mother of a 7-year-old, had heard screams and fighting in the apartment above her. In the following weeks, funky smells began to spook the residents.
Starting in late July, swarms of bugs filled Facciola’s Williamsbridge apartment. An infected bug bite Facciola suffered even landed her in the hospital.
Residents of 3830 White Plains Road knew something was seriously wrong, that “… something was dead in the building,” says Facciola.
On July 29, Facciola reached out to her case manager at Project Renewal, a nonprofit that houses people with mental illness and substance abuse issues. They rent eight apartments in the building, including the apartment in question.
"I reported it, and nobody listened,” said the angry mother. “That was the most frustrating part.”
Facciola called police multiple times. She says they did visit more than once and said they would have to talk to a supervisor, but no further action was taken.
Three weeks later, police say they found a body in the apartment. Finally, on Sept. 9, the apartment was cleaned out.
Facciola described the situation inside to News 12.
"The body was like melted into the mattress, so the bugs, the maggots, the roaches, were embedded in the mattress – they were already in the walls – they're still in the walls."
Project Renewal says they were not alerted until Aug. 17, the day the body was found, and Project Renewal says they paid a home visit and building maintenance sent an exterminator to the building multiple times.
"As much as we wanted to do more, there's nothing we could do more when it comes to a body and a police matter,” said a spokesperson from building maintenance.
Facciola requested a transfer to a different building. With News 12’s help, she finally got the green light from Project Renewal in late September.
News 12 reached out to police for a response to the allegation that they were called multiple times to investigate the odor and didn’t take action. We have not heard back yet.