Family's dream home turns to nightmare as hoarder neighbor turns his property into a dump overflowing with excrement, condoms and needles
A family's dream home became a nightmare after their hoarder neighbor turned his property into an unofficial dump, blocking their drive with garbage.
Elena Malone and her husband Josh Ryan bought their three-bedroom Sun Valley, California family home in 2021 for $1.2million.
But shortly after moving in, their neighbor, 50-year-old David Ferrera's, plot started overflowing with human excrement, condoms, sex toys as well as over 100 abandoned vehicles, broken electronics, scrap metal and chemical waste.
The family and other neighbors told The LA Times that as well as looking horrible, the rubbish poses a serious health and safety risk, but officials have failed to take action.
Malone said: 'It was so beautiful. I just really feel like one person shouldn't be able to sacrifice the safety of the community.'
Elena Malone and her husband, Josh Ryan, bought their three-bedroom Sun Valley, California family home in 2021 for $1.2million but three years on it's become a living nightmare as their neighbor's plot overflows with garbage
Their next door neighbor Ferrera - who relatives told the LA Times is a mentally ill hoarder - has turned his plot into an unlicensed dump, visible in aerial images
When Malone, her husband and their two young children moved into the house on Wildwood Fire Road it was beautiful, set in half an acre of landscaped gardens with fireplaces, exposed beams and an open kitchen.
But three years later the family are desperate to leave.
Their next door neighbor Ferrera - who relatives told the LA Times is a mentally ill hoarder - has turned his plot into an unlicensed dump.
He reportedly filled the surrounding area with mounds of trash and metal, hazardous waste and more than 100 rusting broken vehicles.
At one time, when the trash made his home inaccessible, he moved into his car outside of the Malones' home.
Their road and front yard then started to fill up with hypodermic needles, bags of weed, human excrement and condoms.
Malone had to stop her children - aged nine and 11 - from playing in the front garden.
She told The LA Times: 'It's just not right.'
Once she found Ferrera and his girlfriend passed out in the car, she said: 'I couldn't wake them up. I was worried they were going to die from an overdose.'
When Malone, her husband and their two young children moved into the new house on Wildwood Fire Road it was beautiful, set in half an acre of landscaped gardens with fireplaces, exposed beams and an open kitchen
Their driveway and front yard then started to fill up with hypodermic needles, bags of weed, human excrement and condoms
The family and other neighbors turned to local authorities for help but told The LA Times they have done nothing.
Ferrera's plot is owned by his 80-year-old mother, Mary, who agreed it is a serious problem and told The Times that she has tried to help him clear up but there is nothing more she can do.
She told The Times: 'He began scavenging metal to survive, which may have triggered or worsened his hoarding.'
Mary was charged with property code violations for failing to clean up the property in 2021, and sentenced to 180 days in jail.
She reportedly sobbed as she told the judge that she had removed 21 trucks of garbage from the site only to see her son re-fill the land with more trash.
She was released after spending one night in jail.
Now the neighbors are increasingly worried about a fire breaking out on the property and surrounding their own homes.
Scout Raskin, who lives on the road told The Times: 'There are no side streets for us to escape to. If the fire surrounds us, we all die.'
