The landlord of the building where 10 children were killed in a recent fire appeared in a court on Thursday, and his attorney shed some new light on the case after the hearing.
The hearing primarily dealt with the handling of the property after the fire.
Following the fire, Chicago officials say they issued numerous citations for violations at the property, and said that it appeared there was a smoking detector without a working battery inside of the unit where 10 children died in an August fire.
The landlord, 80-year-old Merced Gutierrez, has owned the property for several decades, according to his attorney, and while the lawyer says his client is extremely saddened by the loss of life, he insists his client has addressed all code violations at the property since the last inspection.
The attorney also said there were smoke detectors on the property, but acknowledged that batteries may not have been replaced in the units.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Gutierrez will be back in court Dec. 6, and that city inspectors will go back to the property on Dec. 4 to conduct another inspection.
