ORANGE COUNTY – The attorney representing the family of Miya Marcano said he disagrees with the timeline released by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office related to her death.
Attorney Daryl Washington said officials with the Arden Villas apartments have also gone silent on the family.
“She was an employee so more than anybody, they should have reached out to the family and offered their condolences,” Washington said.
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Washington said it appears law enforcement dropped the ball during the initial investigation, claiming a sheriff’s deputy dismissed evidence that allowed the man suspected of killing her to drive away two days before he was found dead of an apparent suicide.
This is referencing a cellphone video released by the family showing them confronting Caballero around 3:45 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 25 — one day after Marcano was last seen alive — according to the family.
In the video the family accuses Caballero, in front of the deputy, of having pursued a relationship with the woman despite her refusals, and they say they have cellphone records to prove it. He denies being a stalker.
“You have sent obsessive texts to Miya,” one family member can be heard saying to Caballero in the video. “We have all seen the texts. You talked about giving her your life savings. You Cash App’ed her money and you claim that you weren’t in touch.”
Caballero gets defensive.
“It’s not only from my side,” he said. “So, don’t try to make this like I’m a stalker.”
Sheriff John Mina said, at the time of that confrontation, deputies had no probable cause to detain Caballero. He added that, according to the investigative timeline, Miya Marcano was already dead
“Sadly, detaining Caballero at 4:30 a.m. would not have changed the fact the Caballero left her body at Tymber Skan apartments, between 8 and 9 p.m. the night before,” he said. “That’s a full eight hours before that video was taken. And actually, it was before the sheriff’s office was even called.”.
Washington also said the family wants to prevent another young woman from being killed.
“They want to make sure that nobody ever has to go through what they experienced. They are going to be looking at changes to how apartment complexes deal with key fobs,” Washington said.
Washington said this week the family is focusing on Marcano’s funeral. Following that, he said a lawsuit against the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and Arden Villas is possible.
Julia Veiga lives at Arden Villas and organized Wednesday evening’s protest.
“You entrust these people with your care, you trust them with your life, you’re living here, so you would hope that you know they are doing the right process to vet those individuals that are going to be coming in and out of our apartments,” Veiga said.
See the sheriff’s office’s timeline below: