The mothers of the three Black friends found dead in Airbnb during a Mexico City trip–Kandace Florence, Jordan Marshall, and Courtez Hall–have planned to take legal action against the company.
According to NBC News, the grief-stricken mothers–Freida Florence, Jennifer Marshall and Ceola Hall–have announced that they will be suing Airbnb over the three victims’ deaths. The lawsuit, which hasn’t been filed yet, will reportedly seek to force Airbnb to require functioning carbon monoxide detectors at all of its rental properties across the globe. The womens’ attorney, Atlanta-based L. Chris Stewart, said the company was previously sued about the problem before and, thus, knew it was an issue but seemingly didn’t take action.
“These are the three examples of what parents want their children to be,” Stewart said. “We lost a 12th grade teacher, a seventh grade teacher, an entrepreneur who built a company from nothing. That’s what we want. These people were helping the next generation.”
During the womens’ first public interview together on Nov. 30, they expressed how heartbroken they were over their children’s tragic deaths.
“I cannot process in my mind why my daughter is not here today,” Kandace Florence’s mother, Freida, said. She added that Airbnb should’ve required that the now-deceased young woman and her friends’ rental units have functioning carbon monoxide detectors.
“There is no excuse. There is no excuse. It cost $30. If I had known, I would have bought it for her,” the grieving mom shared. Naturally, she’s decided, along with the other mothers, to take legal action.
As News Onyx previously reported, Kandace, Jordan and Courtez were found dead in an Airbnb while on a Mexico City trip celebrating Dia De Los Muertos (Day Of The Dead) from alleged carbon monoxide poisoning. Stewart told NBC News that since the rental giant reportedly regulates parties and guns, it should include the requirement of carbon monoxide alarms to ensure customer safety.
Since the incident, Airbnb has reportedly contacted the U.S. Embassy regarding the death of the three friends and suspended the Mexico City listing in which they stayed.
A spokesperson for the company additionally issued a statement to NBC News.
“This is a terrible tragedy, and our thoughts are with the families and loved ones as they grieve such an unimaginable loss,” the spokesperson wrote. “Our priority right now is supporting those impacted as the authorities investigate what happened, and we stand ready to assist with their inquiries however we can.”
The statement isn’t enough for Jordan’s mother, Jennifer, who said she and the other mom’s “can never get” their “babies back.”
“We can never get our babies back. But we really want to ensure that no other family has to deal with this. The way that we lost our children, I mean, it’s devastating. You go from grief to rage, because this could have so easily been avoided.”
