Friends, family trying to get property owner to tear it down.
TRAVERSE CITY -- Friends and family of murdered Traverse City teen Carly Lewis want the vacant building she was murdered in demolished.
Last summer police say Carly was stabbed several times by Robert Jensen Schwander inside the vacant structure on Beitner Street in Traverse City. Schwander had been squatting there after he was kicked out of his parent's home.
Debra Engler, a friend of the Lewis family says, "Words can't even explain, you just imagine the horror when you go by there. You just imagine her last minutes of life."
With the Lewis family's support, efforts have begun to get the building torn down. A Facebook page called Rainbow For Carly Lewis was created to gather support and so far almost 200 people are fans.
Laurie Lucas says, "I want the building gone. Do something to make it different, but I want it gone. It doesn't need to be there they haven't used it in years."
Traverse City records show Jim Paulos with Paulos Land Company owns the building. 7&4 News tried to contact him, but our calls went unanswered. Traverse City manager Ben Bifoss has also been trying to reach him because the building is violating several ordinances.
Bifoss says, "The doors need to be secure, windows need to be secure, it needs to be painted, those types of issues."
The city says it is up to Paulos to decide whether or not to demolish the building, but he could face fines if he doesn't get it up to code.
Those who want the building torn down say they plan to pickett if it's not gone by June 2nd, the one year anniversary of Carly's murder.
