ORLANDO, FLA. (WSVN) - The family of 19-year-old Miya Marcano has filed a lawsuit against the apartment complex where she lived and worked before she was found dead, claiming the complex was negligent.
The lawsuit, which was filed Monday night in the 9th Judicial Circuit Court in Orange County, names Arden Villas, its parent company The Preiss Company and the estate of 27-year-old Armando Caballero.
The lawsuit alleges that while working for the complex, Marcano was never made aware by management that Caballero “had a criminal background, a history of harassing women, nor was she aware that Caballero would have unsupervised and/or free access to her apartment.”
Caballero is suspected of killing Marcano. Caballero was found dead shortly after Marcano was reported missing. Her body was found days later.
Investigators said Caballero used a master key to enter Marcano’s apartment. Detectives said Caballero had shown a romantic interest in Marcano before, but she repeatedly turned him down.
The complaint states that “Caballero, who was much older than [Marcano], appeared to be interested in [Marcano] and this made her extremely uncomfortable. [Marcano] expressed her concerns to employees of the [Arden Villas], as well as to her parents who were concerned that … the manager of the [Arden Villas] was not taking the safety concerns of the employees and tenants very seriously. Management at the Arden Villas had a reputation for ignoring the complaints made by both tenants and employees.”
The complaint states that the complex knew or should have known “that their employees and/or their agent’s employees, posed a danger to residents and invitees, by virtue of their access to Arden Villas,” and that since some employees were able to enter apartments at the complex, management “had a non-delegable duty to ensure that all such employees were monitored, as to ensure that employees that posed a threat to residents and/or invitees were not retained.”
According to the complaint, Marcano’s family is seeking damages in excess of $30,000.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.