BOSTON -- Boston inspectors Monday condemned an apartment on Beacon Hill after finding more than 60 dead cats.

Video

Official Describes Apartment

NewsCenter 5's Jim Boyd reported that the city is planning to take action against the woman who lived in the apartment at the rear of 103 Charles St. Police came to the building after neighbors complained of a barking dog.

"They found a malnourished great Dane that had to be removed," Inspectional Services Commissioner Kevin Joyce said. "Five malnourished cats had to be removed. They found 60 dead cats in the freezer and a heavy accumulation of syringes and medicine bottles."

Joyce said the apartment was also littered with animal body parts and waste. He wouldn't say what he thought had gone on there, but he said it was one of the worst situations he'd ever seen.

"I've been to a number of these things in the last few years, and this is one of the worst smells I've smelled in a long time," Joyce said.

Sources said the apartment was rented to Heidi Erickson. Some neighbors in this desirable section of Beacon Hill said they recently became concerned about the health of the dog but didn't know what went on in the apartment.

"She had one single dog and the cats were confined to the house, so what went on inside the house we certainly don't know," neighbor Larry Hayden said.

Cleanup crews said the woman took pains to not let others know the state of the apartment.

"Whoever was in the unit took a lot of care to keep it pretty much contained," said Mike Wiseman, of Aftermath Cleaning. "They had plastic on the windows so the odor didn't get out. They had some fragrance machines running in there. A lot of fans. Every area was blocked off, so everything was encapsulated in the unit."

The Department of Inspectional Services will hold a hearing Thursday morning to determine whether sanctions should be brought against the resident for violating city health and sanitary codes.