The family of a South Florida woman slain in Costa Rica has filed a
lawsuit against Airbnb and the owners of the resort where she rented a
room in November.
Carla Stefaniak's family said the owners of Villa le Mas, a secluded
resort in the San Jose suburb of San Antonio de EscazĂș, failed to
conduct a background check on a Nicaraguan security guard who was in
Costa Rica illegally, according to the suit filed in Hillsborough
County, Fla., on Thursday.
Bismark Espinoza Martinez, killed Stefaniak, 36, on Nov. 28 -- her 36th
birthday -- when she returned to the apartment villa she rented through
Airbnb after dropping off her sister-in-law at the airport, authorities
said.
He was arrested on Dec. 3, several hours after search dogs found
Stefaniak's body in plastic bags on the property about 1,000 feet from
her room.
"Multiple persons were involved in removing and disposing" her body, the lawsuit says in citing forensic evidence.
Martinez's job came with the free use of a hotel apartment, which was
next to the one rented by Stefaniak. The 32-year-old guard had a pass
key to every room in the complex, according to the lawsuit filed by
attorney Jeffrey "Jack" Gordon on behalf of Stefaniak's two brothers.
In the suit, the resort's owners and Airbnb were accused of being
negligent protecting customers. All parties profiting from Stefaniak's
booking, including Airbnb, should have known the potential danger posed
by giving Martinez "unsupervised access to vulnerable women guests in a
private setting," according to the lawsuit.
"Village Buena Vista, was or have been aware and understood how
vulnerable guests were to violence or abuse by security guards, staff,
official personnel and other persons of authority within the control of
defendants," according to the lawsuit.
Airbnb also is accused of deleting negative guest reviews on its site.
"While defendant, Airbnb, posted complimentary and positive reviews of
the resort property and its hosts, there are and were multiple reports
since 2013 of guests who encountered bad experiences and recounted being
victimized by personnel affiliated with the resort that Defendant,
Airbnb sanitized from its own promotions and advertising materials," the
lawsuit states.
In addition, the resort nor Airbnb communicated U.S. Department of State
travel advisories through its Bureau of Consular Affair to their
customers, the lawsuit states. The agency has warned for several years
that violent crime such as armed robbery and assault is common in Costa
Rica.
Trace amounts of blood were found in the villa apartment where Stefaniak
stayed, authorities have said. In addition, an autopsy found that her
death was caused by blunt force trauma to her head, and she also
received a broken neck and cuts on her neck and arms.
"Our hearts are broken for Carla's family, friends, and loved ones,"
Airbnb said in a statement to the Tampa Bay Times. "We reached out to
provide support to them during this unimaginably difficult time."
Airbnb said it has removed the resort from its website and is "standing
by to support [the] investigation, as justice must be served quickly."
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