A South Carolina public school teacher is suing Tru by Hilton and its management companies after she says hotel staff handed her estranged husband a key to her room—an act she alleges led directly to her kidnapping and assault.
The lawsuit, filed in Orangeburg County Court, accuses the hotel of gross negligence for giving unauthorized access to a man who was not a registered guest and failing to respond to multiple warning signs during the violent incident.
According to the complaint, Latasha Brown, a teacher and mother, checked into the Tru by Hilton Orangeburg to spend a quiet night alone on Sept. 20, 2024. In the early morning hours, her estranged husband allegedly gained entry to her room using a key card obtained from the front desk. Brown says he then held her captive for several hours, physically assaulting and terrorizing her until she managed to escape.
Neighbors reportedly heard her screams for help and alerted the front desk, but hotel staff failed to check on her or contact police, the lawsuit claims.
A dashcam footage captures Brown telling an officer she waved down on the highway after the incident that “…when I woke up he was on top of me.”
“You let your hair down, you think you’ll be safe behind a big heavy door, but there’s a key that works—and they can give it to anyone,” Brown said at a Thursday press conference, standing beside her attorney, State Rep. Justin Bamberg (D-Bamberg County).
A Preventable Tragedy
Bamberg, who has represented victims in several high-profile civil rights and negligence cases, said the situation was “a catastrophic failure of basic hotel safety protocols.”
“This was not an unforeseeable act of violence,” Bamberg told reporters. “It was an act made possible because a hospitality worker made a reckless decision—one that could have cost Ms. Brown her life.”
The suit names Naman Hotels, which operates the Tru by Hilton location, as one of the defendants. As of Friday, neither Hilton Worldwide nor Naman Hotels had issued a public comment.
Domestic Violence and Institutional Negligence
Brown’s case is gaining traction in South Carolina, where advocates say the state continues to grapple with high rates of domestic violence. According to the South Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, the state ranks among the top 10 nationwide for women killed by men in domestic incidents.
“Domestic violence doesn’t end when someone leaves the relationship—it often escalates,” said Andrea Young, a local domestic abuse prevention advocate not connected to the case. “When businesses fail to take basic precautions, they become complicit in the danger.”
Brown said her goal is not just justice for herself but systemic change: “I’m speaking out because I don’t want another woman to go through what I went through. Hotels need to know that a key card can be a weapon in the wrong hands.”
Legal and Industry Implications
Legal experts say the case could become a landmark test for how far hotels must go to protect guests from domestic partners or known threats.
Industry protocols generally require staff to verify a guest’s identity before issuing replacement keys, but enforcement can vary widely by location.
“This lawsuit may push hotels to rethink how they handle access control—especially in cases involving protective orders or domestic disputes,” said Rachel Morrison, a hospitality law attorney based in Atlanta.
For now, Brown’s case underscores a grim reality: even the places we assume are safe can fail the most vulnerable when vigilance lapses.
As Brown put it, her message is simple but urgent: “Safety should not depend on luck—or the judgment of a front desk clerk.”
