Eric Eno was found dead in his room at Portland’s Shoreline Building on August 18, 2024, roughly 11 days after he died, his body showing significant postmortem decay by the time a staff member finally opened the door after residents complained repeatedly about the smell. His death is now at the center of the seventh wrongful death lawsuit filed in three years against Central City Concern, the nonprofit that operates the transitional housing facility and describes itself as the largest provider of its kind in the Portland metro area.
The lawsuit, filed by Eno’s sister Kristie Eno on August 18, seeks $3 million in damages from Central City Concern and Multnomah County, according to KGW. A building employee had called 911 to request a welfare check on Eno, but by the time staff opened his room after residents kept complaining about a rotten fish smell, his body reportedly no longer had fingerprints. Court filings cited by the station allege occupancy at the Shoreline Building was at a record low when Eno died, and claim Central City Concern had a financial incentive not to discover missing or deceased residents because contract funding could depend on maintaining minimum occupancy levels.
Eno’s case is not isolated. The lawsuit alleges at least 34 other people died and were later discovered with significant postmortem decay inside buildings owned, leased, or managed by Central City Concern, which oversees roughly 34 properties and more than 2,281 housing units across the Portland metro area, per the same account.
A Recurring Pattern Across Multiple Buildings
The Shoreline Building, a transitional housing facility for adults exiting custody, was also where 33-year-old Brendan Mackey died. Mackey’s body was not discovered for approximately two months, and his lawsuit alleges the same Shoreline Building staff failed to check in on him. Reporting from KATU in May 2024 detailed how a maintenance worker performing a routine smoke detector test discovered Mackey’s body only after staff had repeatedly declined his family’s requests for a wellness check, telling them the facility does not perform them…