Miya Marcano's Killing Is a Wakeup Call on Apartment 'Master' Keys

[Jilly_in_VA]

What happened to Miya Marcano was a nightmare, unimaginable to most. After the 19-year-old rebuffed a maintenance worker’s romantic advances at her Orlando apartment complex, he allegedly used a master key to enter her unit late last month, killed her, then left her duct-taped body in a wooded area, according to police.

But for some women, at least one part of Marcano’s case seemed eerily familiar: unwanted attention—if not outright sexual harassment—from apartment maintenance staff.

Landlords, property managers, and repairmen have long been able to uniquely exploit vulnerable tenants who rely on them for safe housing. In some cases, they’ve flexed their ability to just show up inside women’s homes to force unwanted interactions or even watch them. Preyed-upon women often feel they have no choice but to put up with it.

Marcano’s death was a wake-up call.

Now, horrified tenants at the complex where Marcano lived and worked, Arden Villas, are demanding a change. They want better safety measures, including a ban on master keys and unsolicited maintenance visits—as well as the ability to break their leases and a refund on their rent payments from September and October, since many residents have had to purchase safety and security devices.

“For years, residents have reported inappropriate behavior of the maintenance men that enter their apartments,” alleges a petition tenants started against the complex and its owner, The Preiss Company, which has already gathered nearly 45,000 signatures.

“Yet they did nothing, and now Miya is dead,” reads the petition, referring to Arden Villas.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/xgxe7n/miya-marcano-death-reveals-widespread-tenant-sexual-harassment

[Haggard Celine]

1. There are a lot of creeps out there.

If I had a daughter or a sister out there, especially one who was living alone, I would strongly encourage her to take some self-defense classes and arm herself, whether with a gun, a taser, mace, or some other device. It would be awful beyond words to lose a loved one to some sick bastard and his fantasies. Just knowing that her last moments were filled with pain and horror would be unbearable.

[Jilly_in_VA]

2. I got surprised by someone with a master key

I was supposed to move out that day, but had told my travel nurse recruiter I would not be leaving until the afternoon. She apparently failed to notify management. I was in a state of undress when someone opened the door without knocking to start clearing the apartment. Oopsy!

[WhiskeyGrinder]

3. She didn't "rebuff his repeated romantic advances." She was trying to protect herself from a

predator after listening to her gut.

[Merlot]

4. Horrible they would phrase it as "romantic." Victim blaming at it's worst

[Jilly_in_VA]

5. I know

That's what pisses me off the most about the media framing of this story. Dammit.