Thank you, Kath. Your sympathy actually means a lot! The apartment is so sweet, and the seller of this house left a lot of nice touches and history in it, gave me the family stories, etc. He left some beautiful carpets in the apartment - I just found a big burn in one of them.
The only problem with involving media or even police is - I don't know what kind of things might happen - I don't need bad press in my small town - and I feel like the police might do nothing or might require a lot of things that would be punitive to me. I am really hoping that Airbnb will do something that will monetarily compensate.
I think we have made a HUGE dent in dangerous toxins downstairs - but of course they say it is never gone. That just makes me sad for this sweet old lady of a house. I feel like I let her down. I wasn't careful - the renters didn't have state-issued ID, I think - and no reviews. I was dumb. But it would be nice to at least have a response from Airbnb - they have kept their commission!