A Houston man says the smell from a decomposing body found elsewhere in his condominium building became so overwhelming that he could no longer stay inside his own home, forcing him into a hotel while he searched for answers and help.
KHOU 11 reporter Michelle Choi visited the west Houston property and found the odor strong enough that she moved her interview with the renter, identified only as Lekan, outside. Before he even opened his front door, Lekan was already covering his nose.
“I can’t go to work. I’ve not been eating. I can’t even do anything,” he told Choi.
Houston police confirmed that a 68-year-old man had been found dead inside another condo in the building, with the body already in an active state of decomposition. Police said there were no apparent signs of foul play.
Flies Outside the Door Raised the First Alarm
Lekan rents at the One Orleans Place condo community off Jeanetta Street and told KHOU 11 that the problem began after he returned from a work trip.
He said he noticed flies near his door and went closer to investigate.
“I saw flies by the door and then I was wondering what’s there,” Lekan said. “So I got closer. I could smell the stench.”
The smell continued, and by Monday, Lekan said he had contacted his landlady and the homeowners association before eventually calling 911 and asking firefighters to check on his neighbors.
That welfare check led first responders to the unit where the 68-year-old man was found.
“So if I had not called 911, they wouldn’t have discovered the decaying body,” Lekan said.
The discovery itself was disturbing enough, but for Lekan, the problem did not end once the body was removed. Instead, the odor remained inside his own condo and, according to him, seemed to have spread into almost everything he owned.
Odor Apparently Spread Through His Belongings
When Choi arrived at the condo, she said the smell was so overpowering that she could not comfortably remain near the entrance.
KHOU 11 photographer Cameron Johnson followed Lekan inside while he gathered belongings to take back to the hotel where he had been staying since Monday.
Lekan said the odor had reached his food, clothing and possibly his furniture and walls.
“My food, my clothing. And I’m sure the furniture,” he said. “I don’t know how I’m going to deal with that.”
What makes the situation especially unusual is that Lekan’s condo is not directly next to the unit where the man was found. That left an obvious question about how the odor traveled far enough through the building to make another home difficult to occupy.
It is one of those situations that sounds almost impossible until someone is standing in the middle of it. Odors from decomposition are not simply unpleasant in the ordinary sense, and the fact that Choi’s crew moved the interview outside shows how serious Lekan believed the problem had become.
He Documented the Problem and Asked for Help
Lekan told KHOU 11 that he began documenting what was happening and looking for someone who could resolve it.
He contacted his landlady and the HOA, sent his landlady written notice by certified mail and also filed a 311 request asking the city to inspect the condo.
According to Choi’s report, the Texas Attorney General’s Office advises tenants seeking certain repairs to provide written notice to their landlord. Its guidance says seven days is generally considered a reasonable amount of time for a landlord to make a diligent effort to repair a qualifying problem after proper notice, although individual circumstances can change that timeline.
With no resolution in sight, Lekan contacted KHOU 11.
“My home means everything to me,” he told Choi. “My home is my sanctuary.”
That comment explains why the situation had become about more than just an unpleasant smell. Lekan was still paying for somewhere to stay while wondering whether his home, possessions and everyday routine could return to normal.
He also said he could not afford to continue paying for a hotel indefinitely.
Biohazard Crew Appears During KHOU 11 Visit
While Lekan was showing Choi where his neighbor had been found, the news crew noticed something he apparently had not expected to see.
“Oh, they’re cleaning,” Lekan said after spotting workers at the other unit.
A biohazard cleanup crew had been hired by the owner of that condo and was already cleaning and deodorizing the space.
Jim Greene, owner of Houston Clean Response, told KHOU 11 that he has worked in the field for nearly 25 years and that odors can travel after a person dies and a body begins decomposing.
When Choi asked whether the smell could move through a building, Greene answered, “Absolutely.”
He said he believed the odor may have been traveling through parts of the structure itself, possibly through drywall.
That explanation could help make sense of why Lekan was dealing with such a powerful smell even though his condo was not immediately beside the unit where the body was discovered.
Greene also offered to return and help deodorize Lekan’s condo if the renter still had not received assistance by early the following week.
“I am feeling a little more hopeful,” Lekan said after hearing the offer.
That was one of the few signs of progress in the report, and it stood out because most of Lekan’s experience until then had involved phone calls, written notices and uncertainty rather than a clear solution.
Health Department Inspectors Arrive
Another development came while KHOU 11 was still at the property.
Houston Health Department workers arrived and entered Lekan’s condo carrying handheld meters after his 311 request.
Choi reported that inspectors had not determined, while the news crew was there, whether the home was safe for him to occupy.
KHOU 11 requested more information from the city about the inspection and its findings.
The station also contacted Lekan’s landlady and the condo association seeking answers about what would happen next.
According to Choi, the landlady did not answer KHOU 11’s questions and asked the station not to contact her.
Genesis Community Management and an HOA property manager told KHOU 11 that media questions would need to be forwarded to the condo’s board of managers. The station was still waiting for a response from the board at the time of the report.
A Home Still in Limbo
For Lekan, the biggest issue remained whether he could return home and whether his belongings could be saved from the odor.
He had already been staying elsewhere for days, paying for his hotel while waiting for someone to determine what could be done inside the condo.
The arrival of the biohazard crew and city inspectors gave him some reason to believe the situation might finally begin moving toward a solution, but there was still no clear answer about when he could safely move back in.
The case is striking because the original emergency happened in another person’s home, yet the effects spread far beyond that unit. For Lekan, a neighbor’s death unexpectedly turned his own condo into a place he said he could no longer comfortably enter.
By the end of Choi’s report, he was still waiting for inspection results, responses from property management and a lasting way to remove the odor that had driven him from the place he called his sanctuary.
A former park ranger and wildlife conservationist, Lisa’s passion for survival started with her deep connection to nature. Raised on a small farm in northern Wisconsin, she learned how to grow her own food, raise livestock, and live off the land. Lisa is our dedicated Second Amendment news writer and also focuses on homesteading, natural remedies, and survival strategies. Lisa aims to help others live more sustainably and prepare for the unexpected.
