Sheriff’s deputy suspended over Miya Marcano investigation

(CMR) A Florida sheriff's deputy who failed to act urgently when the family of Miya Marcano reported her missing last year has been suspended for 150 hours. The body of the 19-year-old was found a week after she was reported missing near the Tymber Skan by the Lake condos.

Marcano, the daughter of Florida-based Trinidadian DJ Marlon Marcano (DJ Eternal Vibes), who performed in the Cayman Islands, was killed by the maintenance manager at the property where she lived and worked. The maintenance manager reportedly used a master key to enter her apartment after they had an argument.

Reports are that on the first night Miya Marcano disappeared, the family had concerns and called the sheriff's office about how the responding deputy handled the case, claiming he wasn't doing enough.

Miya's mother called the Orange County Sheriff's Office on the night of September 24, asking to have a deputy check on Miya's well-being. Miya was supposed to fly to Fort Lauderdale that night but never boarded the plane.

The Orange County sheriff's deputy is accused of not doing enough checks after he visited Miya's apartment and claimed nothing was out of the ordinary despite several “red flags.” In the report, Samir Paulino, the responding deputy, stated, “I attempted to make contact with Miya at her apartment and knocked on the door approximately three times with no answer.”

The deputy said he went around the back of the complex to look inside Miya's bedroom but “did not notice anything out of the ordinary.” A week later, the body of Miya Marcano was found near the Tymber Skan by the Lake condos.

“Few things are more excruciating for a family than when a loved one goes missing and is murdered. In the case of Miya Marcano's disappearance, managers in the responding deputy's chain of command recognized a lack of urgency on his part and asked that his role – and the role of his corporal – in the first hours of that incident be investigated by our Professional Standards division,” said Orange County Sheriff John Mina.

Attorneys for Miya Marcano's family released the following statement.

“Knowing how Deputy Paulino and other responding deputies handled this case is inexcusable and has caused Miya’s family and friends to experience additional pain. What is worse is that Sherrif Mina defended the poorly conducted investigation and applauded his deputies for doing an excellent job despite the number of failures that have now been revealed to the public,” said attorney Daryl Washington.

“The investigation report only confirmed what Miya's father has said since she was discovered missing; they were not taken seriously. If the pleas of the family were taken seriously, the outcome of the case would have been much different,” Washington added.

“Honestly, I feel sick. I physically feel sick! Deputy Paulino failed Miya. The Orange County Sheriff's office failed Miya. The Preiss Company and the owners of the Arden Villas Luxury Apartments failed Miya. We begged these deputies to help us. We begged the Property Management Company for help. Deputy Paulino allowed the person who harmed our daughter to walk free. I am heartbroken. I am simply heartbroken!” Yma Suling Scarbriel, Miya's mother, said in a statement.

The maintenance manager reportedly committed suicide three days after Miya was reported missing, days before her body was found. Miya's death has resulted in “Miya's Law,” a bill aimed at enhancing renter protections.