Family of Florida woman killed in Costa Rica sues Airbnb
The family of Carla Stefaniak, the South Florida woman who was murdered in Costa Rica last month, filed a lawsuit Thursday against Airbnb, records show.
Stefaniak, who lived in Hallandale Beach, was killed in Costa Rica while she was on vacation celebrating her 36th birthday on Nov. 28.
Bismarck Espinosa Martinez, a 32-year-old Nicaraguan who immigrated to Costa Rica just six months before, is being detained on a three-month preventive custody sentence after authorities named him the prime suspect.
Martinez was a security guard at the Airbnb complex from where Stefaniak vanished. The partially naked woman was found stabbed to death nearby; her body, half buried and wrapped in plastic, investigators said.
The lawsuit — filed in Hillborough County Court by Stefaniak’s brothers, Mario Caicedo and Carlos Caicedo Jr. —lists Airbnb as the defendant, as well as Villa le Mas, the Airbnb apartment complex that Stefaniak stayed in the Escazu suburb of San Jose., the capital of Costa Rica.
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The suit, which refers to Martinez as a “predator,” says Airbnb and Villa le Mas acted negligently because they failed to do a background check on Martinez, who lacked documentation and legal authorization for employment or even “physical presence” in Costa Rica.
The lawsuit also says the defendants were negligent because they gave Martinez the authority to open any rental unit, at his convenience, without permission or supervision.
Airbnb and Villa le Mas were not immediately available for comment Saturday evening.
“[Airbnb and Villas le Mas] knew or should have known of the potential danger in facilitating Martinez’s un-supervised access to vulnerable women guests in a private setting,” the lawsuit said. “[They] owed a duty to maintain its premises, in a reasonably safe condition, and to take reasonable care for the safety of Stefaniak and protect her from reasonably foreseeable criminal conduct by third parties and employees and agents.”
In the lawsuit, Stefaniak’s brothers say Airbnb should have warned tourists about the dangers and perils in Costa Rica after the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Diplomatic Security put out a travel advisory in April, assessing Costa Rica as being a “high-threat location for crime.”
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“What happened to my sister wasn’t just some coincidence,” Stefaniak’s brother, Mario Caicedo, told the Miami Herald Saturday. “Someone has to take responsibility. There are many moving parts here, and of course the first person who needs to take responsibly is that killer, then the hotel who gave him a job, and the entities that vowed to keep her safe, but didn’t.”
According to Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Department, Stefaniak’s brutal killing may have been “sexually motivated. “ They did not elaborate.
Stefaniak had arrived in the Central American country on Nov. 22. She was last heard from on the night of Nov. 27, and did not board a scheduled flight to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport the following day.
After a worldwide search that spread through social media with the hashtag #FindingCarla, Stefaniak’s body was found Dec. 3 with a broken neck and stab wounds; her throat had been sliced and her head suffered blunt force trauma, Costa Rican authorities said. Investigators said she had been partially buried in dirt and wrapped in plastic about 1,000 feet from where she was staying.
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The gated Airbnb is located in the neighborhood of Villa Le Mas, where there are only a few hotels separated by mountainous terrain, with no stores or restaurants. The lodging areas sit behind iron bars or full gates. The dirt roads are so steep that cars struggle to climb them. Thick brush and forests line the roadways.
The advanced decomposition of her body indicated her death took place several days before, Costa Rican authorities said. Two weeks ago, authorities announced they found Stefaniak’s cellphone, clothes and iPad.
According to OIJ, Martinez was living next door to the unit Stefaniak was renting. It’s unknown if or when he will face official charges.
This story was originally published December 22, 2018 at 7:31 PM.
