DENVER — Federal housing officials are condemning a decision by the Denver Housing Authority to evict the relatives of a mother killed by a rampaging gunman three days after her slaying, saying there is room for compassion in federal law.
Housing and Urban Development spokesman Jerry Brown said Tuesday that his agency and the Denver Housing Authority are working to try to provide housing assistance to the mother and autistic son of 47-year-old Sandra Roskilly after they were locked out of their subsidized housing.
Brown said federal lease agreements for subsidized housing with communities limit the ability of residents to turn over property to other people, but the rules aren't carved in stone.
"Our rules and guidelines are just that, and we would hope people would use compassion. They have discretion, which is why the city has a board to administer it. There was no notification on our end of an eviction, and we didn't have a say in it," he said.
Police said 31-year-old Daniel Abeyta, a neighbor, killed Roskilly and shot a second woman in her leg on Friday. Abeyta is hospitalized and could be charged with first-degree murder.
The housing authority said it was forced to lock out 70-year-old Doris Kessler under federal law because Roskilly was the head of the household and Kessler wasn't allowed to be on the lease because she lived there as a live-in aide. It also said Roskilly died without a will, requiring the unit to be locked until a public administrator could determine who should inherit Roskilly's belongings.
In a statement, the authority said staffers have "made themselves readily available to Ms. Kessler and other family members to enter the home to retrieve" medications and personal items.
"We appreciated that Sandra Roskilly's death has been traumatic for the family. We will continue to work with them, the Denver Police Department, and the Public Administrator as the family navigates through these very difficult times," the statement said.
