November 11, 2021
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'Miya's Law,' named for murdered Orlando teen, seeks to improve apartment safety - Orlando Sentinel

The family of murdered Orlando college student Miya Marcano wants a law passed in her honor to improve apartment safety and make changes aimed at preventing similar tragedies.

State Sen. Linda Stewart is preparing to introduce a bill titled “Miya’s Law” that would require apartment managers to conduct national background checks on employees.

“There has to be a better background check on these folks,” said Stewart, D-Orlando. “It was a very elementary type of background check that was being used. That is unacceptable.”

Police suspect Marcano, a 19-year-old Valencia College student, was killed by a maintenance worker who had a key to her apartment.

The draft proposal would require apartments with five or more units to screen their employees. Apartment complexes would need to establish procedures for issuing keys to employees and maintaining logs. Landlords would need to provide at least 24 hours’ notice instead of just 12 before entering a tenant’s apartment for non-emergency repairs and maintenance.

Marcano was reported missing Sept. 24 from her apartment at Arden Villas. Police suspect 27-year-old Armando Caballero, an Arden Villas maintenance worker, killed her and dumped her body. Caballero was found dead by suicide at a Seminole County apartment complex just days before Marcano’s body was found.

Yma Scarbriel, mother of Miya Marcano, attends her daughter's funeral service on Thursday Oct. 14, 2021 at Cooper City Church of God in Cooper City, Fl. Marcano, a 19-year-old college sophomore from Pembroke Pines, was found murdered in a wooded area near her apartment complex in Orlando on Oct. 2.
Yma Scarbriel, mother of Miya Marcano, attends her daughter's funeral service on Thursday Oct. 14, 2021 at Cooper City Church of God in Cooper City, Fl. Marcano, a 19-year-old college sophomore from Pembroke Pines, was found murdered in a wooded area near her apartment complex in Orlando on Oct. 2.

Marcano’s family has created the Miya Marcano Foundation, which plans to work with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in support of the legislation.

“I’m happy to know that we’re working on legislation in Miya’s name, that will serve to protect other young ladies not only in the state in the state of Florida but eventually the entire country,” Daryl K. Washington, the Marcano family’s attorney, said in a prepared statement. “We know that this is something Miya would be pushing for if she was alive. Her ultimate motivation in life was to protect others and through Miya’s Law, this will be done.”

Marcano’s death sparked protests from Arden Villas residents. They accused the apartment complex’s owner, The Preiss Company, of failing to keep residents safe. The complex is home mostly to students who attend the University of Central Florida and Valencia College. More than 50,000 people signed an online petition demanding Arden Villas bolster safeguards.

Marcano’s family filed a wrongful-death lawsuit this past month, accusing Arden Villas of negligence in employing Caballero, who officials said made unwanted advances toward Marcano before her death. Marcano worked for Arden Villas in addition to living there.

A Preiss company spokesperson did not return a message seeking comment this week. In a previous statement, the company said it conducted a background check on Caballero and found no records of burglary or sexual assault.



source: https://www.orlandosentinel.com/politics/os-ne-miyas-law-filed-20211111-h2r5ruguxfckzcysooitbmfo4y-story.html

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