ANDERSON — The Bingham Square Apartments are a well-documented eyesore in Anderson with issues including unpaid utility bills and a lawsuit from the city itself. The family of a resident uncovered even more problems after the resident passed away on Thursday.
78-year-old Thomas Gibbs died inside of his Bingham Square apartment Thursday afternoon. His family looked through the apartment after his death and said they were horrified at the conditions they found.
"There were dead mice everywhere and there was no running water," said Gibbs' daughter, Martha Gibbs Mitchell.
They also said the furnace was broken and the ceiling above his bed showed signs of severe water damage.
"He told us once before he was laying in bed and the whole ceiling fell in on him while he was asleep, water and everything," said his granddaughter, Tercoya Bonner.
"The fire department came to make sure he didn't die of carbon monoxide poisoning," Gibbs Mitchell said. "They said there wasn't any carbon monoxide because the furnace wasn't working."
The Madison County Health Department previously cited Bingham Square Apartments for not supplying heat or water nearly a year ago.
Several Anderson city council members said they are fed up with the situation at Bingham Square and the residents left in those conditions.
"Somebody give a damn and start doing something," said Anderson city councilman Ollie Dixon. "It's the poor side of town, black and white. These people are over here suffering."
"The people that are the most vulnerable get treated the worst," said Anderson city council president Rebecca Crumes, who showcased Bingham Square's conditions in a Facebook live after Gibbs' death. "It's just inexcusable for me."
Gibbs' family said even he was fed up with the conditions before his death.
"He was trying to get out because his health was kind of bad," said his sister, Betty Smith. "He was excited about moving."
Instead, he kept paying rent to Bingham Square's owners. Gibbs Mitchell said her dad routinely paid $675 per month to the building's owners.
"I kept telling him, 'You don't even know who you're sending this money to,'" Gibbs Mitchell said. "You can't even call anybody to fix anything."
Even though Gibbs has passed away, the family hopes the owners of Bingham Square make the complex more livable for the remaining residents.
"I hope they do improve what they need to improve for the rest of the people living out there," Smith said.
The owners of the apartment complex did not respond to WRTV's request for comment.
