SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- In an ABC57 News Investigates Special Report, Annie Kate looks into the chaos at Karl King Tower in south bend.
The ABC57 newsroom has been inundated with complaints for years about ongoing issues in the building coming to a head this frigid winter when many residents were left without heat.
The city acted, issuing some fines, while the township got the attention of the Indiana attorney general.
ABC57 Investigative Reporter Annie Kate uncovers how much bigger the problems really are, and why more isn't being done to fix them.
If a bad landlord messes with a utility, local government can get involved.
Annie Kate demonstrates how there's really nothing local government can do if a bad landlord leaves a building bug-infested, unsecure, and dangerous.
Located on the St. Joseph River on the outskirts of downtown South Bend, Karl King Tower at 515 east Monroe St. was built in 1978 as government-subsidized housing for the elderly and disabled.
Tenants get a government-issued housing voucher from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD.
Says 68-year-old Dorothy Underwood, "They go by your income." and it covered two thirds of her rent when she lived there starting in December 2024.
"I thought it was going to be laid back, you know, and relaxing. But there's so much violence and drugs and stuff going on there," said Underwood.
So much so, she says it came to her door.
A man she says didn't live in the building just snapped one day while she was socializing with a neighbor.
Underwood said the man picked her up and threw her onto her back, breaking her ribs.
She never went back to Karl King Tower.
Underwood said, "Oh, that messed me up. I couldn't believe it, you know, mentally, I was like, 'Whoa. Wait a minute. Why'd this happen to me?'"
She lives with her niece now.
Because she got out, she doesn't fear retaliation from management at Karl King for speaking to the media but says the residents still there are threatened with eviction if they talk to anyone.
Portage Township Trustee Jason Critchlow said he's also heard about these threats.
"They will tell me all kinds of things about what's going on there, including how they're treated by the property managers. And inevitably, every single time without me asking. They say, Jason, I'd rather you kept my name out of this... I've never seen that so badly anywhere else. This is by far the worst that I've seen," said Critchlow.
Rodney Gadson started the South Bend Tenant Association in 2019 and says it feels like an uphill battle advocating for tenants' rights in South Bend.
ABC57's been inundated with horror stories out of Karl King Tower, with several letters sent to us, notably kept anonymous, but primarily lamenting safety issues.
ABC57's Annie Kate I tried to go right to the management on-site, but the news cameras quickly got her kicked out.
ABC57 soon returned to verify what's being heard from residents. The anonymous tenant who let Annie Kate inside revealed at least one of the elevators is always broken.
This anonymous tenant described the conditions of Karl King Tower to the infamous Chicago projects, known as Cabrini Green, where he lived for 36 years.
Residents also stated the building is unsafe due to anyone being able to walk right in. ABC57's Annie Kate found the handle of a toilet bowl plunger propping a door open upon one visit.
Residents also complained of illegal activities occurring every day, but especially at night.
On June 29, 2025, residents were horrified to find resident Clarence Harris had fallen to his death.
On Oct.14, 2025, an officer-involved shooting occurred on the second floor after 55-year-old Christopher Chester stabbed the woman he was staying with and charged at officers with a hammer.
In total there were 907 South Bend police calls for service between Jan. 1, 2025, and Jan. 28, 2026.
Police say the most common report was an unwanted person, making up 206 of those calls.