Landlord demands dead victim’s late rent, fees

When she opened the letter from her dead son’s former landlord this week, Danelle Eckert thought there had to be some mistake.

The letter, addressed to Eckert and to the estate of her son, Colin Byars, was demanding March and April rent, late fees and an “early termination fee” because he had left his apartment before the end of his lease. Byars, a 24-year-old teacher, was killed Feb. 21 when he was punched in the head on a Kenosha street.