A video has been released by Miya Marcano’s family, showing them confronting the prime suspect in her murder.
In the video shared by WTSP, the family of the 19-year-old Florida student can be seen grilling maintenance worker Armando Caballero, the 27-year-old who was named a leading person of interest before he was found dead of an apparent suicide on Sept. 28.
“You have sent obsessive texts to Miya,” her family can be heard saying to Caballero as he was speaking with an Orange County deputy outside of her Orlando apartment after Marcana was reported missing. “We have all seen the texts. You talk about giving her your life savings, to which Caballero replies, “I never said that.”
Per police statements, Marcano’s apartment was blocked with a dresser when authorities arrived at the scene. They also discovered that the window to her bedroom had been tampered with.
In the clip, a family member accuses Caballero of having an “obsession” with the teen. “It’s not only from my side, so don’t try to make this like I’m a stalker,” he said. When he was asked why he was there, he said that he was “concerned.”
Her family has criticized how police handled the response to his presence at the scene.
“There should have been a supervisor who should have been called,” the family’s attorney, Daryl Washington said of the encounter, per The Daily Beast. “We have said from the beginning, anybody responsible—who played a part in Miya’s death—will be held accountable.”
“The family questioned Caballero and immediately knew he had something to do with their daughter’s disappearance," the statement continued. "They reported to the deputy who was now on scene that a key fob dropped out of Caballero’s lap as he got out of the car, he had Miya’s blanket and a black backpack in his car and the family caught him in several lies regarding his encounters with Miya. The recently released video shows the deputy politely allowing Caballero to get in his car and leave."
In a response to the criticism, Mina said that deputies are "not permitted to arrest or detain someone based on a hunch or based on what someone else is saying."
Further investigation into the case showed that Caballero had used a master key to gain access to Marcano’s apartment the same day she went missing, and cellphone data showed he was present at the apartment complex between 8-9 p.m. the same day.
The body found last week has since been confirmed to be Marcano’s, although a cause of death has yet to be detailed.
