We went straight to the source to find answers. We spoke with the tenant and tried getting answers from the apartment manager but were turned away.

 

Bethany and her 2-year-old son were forced to move after they grew increasingly ill.

 

"I started complaining in January of this year about and odor in my house," said Villa Cortina tenant Bethany Anderson. "I belived it was mold. There solution was changing my air filter. They've now changed that twice and after complaining for the last 7 months still nothing has been done." 

 

After a strange smell began to surface in her apartment in La Quinta and visible signs of water damage appeared in closets and in the bathroom, Bethany thought perhaps it was mold that was making them sick.

 

"He's had a constant ear infection for the last 6 months that can't seem to go away from the antibiotics," Anderson said. "He run fevers, we're talking about 102 degree and 103 degree fevers. [He's] throwing up in the middle of the night for no reason. I thought maybe it was a common cold. Myself, I've had the migraines, sinus problems, and just all around kind of sluggish. Everything hurts." 

 

Bethany says the apartment managers took a mold sample and told her it turned up negative. But Bethany hired her own environmental health agency for private testing. They found toxic black mold spores in the apartment.

 

We tried contacting the managers at Villa Cortina apartments but were turned away.

 

"I spoke with Allah right after i spoke with you about 20 minutes later and she was going to contact you," a manager at Villa Cortina Apartments said. "I can't give you any comment and at this point because it's private property i'm going to have to ask you to leave."

 

So we left. We're still waiting for that call.

 

As for Bethany, she's moving out.m She wants her money back, and she wants the apartment fixed properly so future tenants don't suffer the same sickness as she and her son. 

 

Bethany says she also contacted the state to see if they would send someone out to inspect the apartment but she was told they simply don't have the money or resources. 

 

--Adrianna Weingold

aweingold@kmir6.com