Family of man murdered in Valley Village apartment suing landlords for negligent management
Family suing building after Valley Village murder
Erick Escamilla is accused of murdering Manny Hidra in his Valley Village apartment. Now, the family is suing the apartment complex because of safety concerns.
LOS ANGELES - The family of the man murdered in his Valley Village apartment last month is now suing the management company that owns the complex, saying residents have warned management multiple times about security issues with people roaming the building.
What we know:
Menashe "Manny" Hidra was killed on April 23 in his apartment at the Ashton Sherman Village.
The day Hidra was killed, the Los Angeles Police Department said that officers were called out to the building, but didn't find any evidence of a crime, so they left. Three days later, they discovered Hidra's body during a welfare check.
At a press conference Friday, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said he couldn't comment on the case, but said the department has "initiated an internal administrative investigation" into why Hidra's murder wasn't discovered until days later.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Man killed inside his apartment in Valley Village in apparent random attack
Suspect arrested
On Thursday, police arrested 27-year-old Erick Escamilla for Hidra's murder. Officials said they believe Escamilla broke into a vacant unit in the building through a skylight on the roof. Then, he allegedly hopped from balcony to balcony, got into Hidra's apartment through a sliding glass door, and killed him.
Dig deeper:
Residents at the complex tell FOX 11 that they've been warning the management company for years about unauthorized people, including the homeless, roaming the building. Those complaints continue today.
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LAPD officers responded to the complex on Friday morning, after reports that another intruder was inside.
What they're saying:
Haifa Nesheiwat lives in the complex, and said she heard people walking around on the roof of her building on Friday morning.
Lawsuit filed against landlord
Residents' repeated complaints and warnings are why Hidra's family is suing the management company that owns the apartment complex for negligent management.
Steve Vartazarian, who is representing the family, said Escamilla is "exactly the kind of people that these tenants were complaining about."
"Complaining about things like transients roaming the hallways, here in the parking garage, in the pool area, on top of the roof — which they should never have access to — and this management company, they knew about it," Vartazarian said. "The building owners, they knew about it, and all of those complaints just happened to fall on deaf ears."
What we don't know:
FOX 11 has repeatedly reached out to the company that owns the apartment complex, going back to when Hidra's body was first found, and has not heard back.
The Source: Information in this story is from Los Angeles Police Department press releases, a press conference with LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell, an interview with attorney Steve Vartazarian and previous FOX 11 reports.