Family Awarded $12M In Lawsuit Against Hialeah Motel Where Loved One Was Murdered
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HIALEAH (CBSMiami) – More than a year after a young woman was murdered in a Hialeah motel, her family is claiming a small victory in court.
It has not been easy for Juliet Machado, whose 30-year-old daughter, Yaimi, was beaten to death.
Machado's family filed a lawsuit against the Chesapeake Motel where her life was taken in April of 2016.
At the end of a five day trial, the motel was found at fault for not providing property security.
"In this particular case, the owners of the Chesapeake Motel treated an absolute threat in their property the same as guest. As result this young women was brutally murdered," said attorney Jason Brenner with the Haggard Law Firm.
Surveillance video from the lobby was used in the successful lawsuit that awarded the family $12 million.
The tape shows the suspect, Ronald Adonis Lopezandrade, hanging around the motel lobby before buying beer and asking for a prostitute.
Sometime later, Machado, who had gotten in a fight with her boyfriend, went to the front desk for help because she was locked out of her room.
The video shows the room clerk refusing to let Machado, who was wearing only a bra and jeans, back in because she is not on the guest registration.
"She has no intention of ever opening the door so she sent her out and right into the hands of this man," Brenner said.
In their suit, lawyers at the Haggard Law Firm said Lopezandrade, who lived near the motel, was on the property without permission and sold liquor even though he was not a guest.
And the motel's so-called security guard?
"In the security tapes that we have from that night showed him [security guard] walking hallways, pushing a house cleaning cart, in flip flops, moping the floors while their daughter was outside being murdered," one of the attorneys said.
In recent years, businesses, bars, restaurants and retail establishments have been hit with major lawsuits and payouts for not providing proper security.