Elderly couple trapped weeks in mound of debris

City building inspector Lauren Mosley photographs the kitchen at a home in the 1500 block of East 69th Street where an elderly couple were found buried under mounds of trash. (Alex Garcia/Tribune)

Elderly couple trapped weeks in mound of debris
May 25, 2010

David O'Neal said he hasn't seen his sister, Thelma Gaston, for six to eight years.

Gaston's neighbors in the South Side's Grand Crossing neighborhood said they, too, haven't seen her or her husband, Jesse Gaston, for an extended period of time.

That's what the neighbors told the Chicago Fire Department when they came to the Gastons' second-floor apartment Monday evening and found the elderly couple buried alive under mounds of trash, possibly for as long as three weeks.

"I was surprised. I wanted to come to Chicago as soon as possible," said O'Neal, who lives in the Seattle area. "I love and care about her," he said of his sister.

Chicago Police conducting a well-being check on Jesse and Thelma Gaston at the request of a neighbor about 6:30 p.m. in the 1500 block of East 69th Street in the Grand Crossing neighborhood detected an overpowering odor and called the Fire Department to make a forced entry, police said.

A fire official on the scene said the couple had not been heard from for three weeks and the 75-year-old woman had injuries that resembled rat bites. Both she and her 76-year-old husband were taken to Jackson Park Hospital in critical condition, but a nurse there said this morning their conditions were improved, though they still were in intensive care.

The stench was so strong that fire personnel had to don hazardous material suits to deal with the debris. Paramedics reported seeing rodents on the property.

Fire Department spokesman Kevin MacGregor said Thelma Gaston may have fallen through the debris first and become trapped. When her husband tried to come to her aid, he apparently became trapped as well.

The couple apparently were the only residents in the building.

Grand Crossing District Police Lt. Dale Kingsley said, "It (the residence) was packed from floor to ceiling."

"It just brought me to tears to see the condition they were found in," said next-door neighbor Reola Valentne, 59, who called 311 about 4 p.m. Monday to ask for the well-being check.

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/05/elderly-couple-trapped-weeks-in-mound-of-debris.html

Seems they were compatible. :shrug:

:shrug: