Family learns dream home contaminated by methamphetamine

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Friday, October 31, 2014
meth contaminated home
Jenny Nugent said she and her family became sick after they bought and moved into their dream home in Indiana.
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Chris and Jenny Nugent spent their life savings to finally buy their dream home, but that dream has now turned into a nightmare for the young couple and their three children.

Turns out, their $144,000 dream home was a former meth house.

The couple got the house inspected for mold and damaged pipes before moving in, but they never thought to test it for meth contamination until after everyone in the house started feeling ill.

"They were sick every week," Jenny Nugent told ABC News. "They would wake up. Throw up. Have digestive issues and then by noon, 1 o'clock start to feel better."

Jenny Nugent learned about her home's history from a neighbor, who told her she suspected the previous owner had cooked meth in the home. Nugent then immediately spent the $50 to get her home tested.

The results were horrifying.

The methamphetamine levels downstairs were nearly 18 times higher than what's considered legally safe, including the room where there infant child had been sleeping for 10 months.

"Those test results came back, I remember that night we just pulled up in the driveway and were like, 'we're never going back in there other than to get our clothes,' and we haven't," Chris Nugent said.

"It feels like a death happened, to be honest," she said. "That's how it feels to my husband and I."

The family is now living at an apartment complex. They've thrown away most of their belongings for fear of contamination and hired a professional cleaner to decontaminate the home in hopes they'll be able to resell it. That will cost them $10,000 and its not covered by their homeowners insurance.

The Nugents are also suing the real estate agent, the real estate company, and the former owners of the house for breach of contract.

You can read more about the the Nugent's story at ABCNews.com.