S.C. woman files lawsuit against hotel chain after ‘hostage’ situation

ORANGEBURG, S.C. - An Orangeburg County woman is now taking a hotel chain to court after claiming they caused her to be ‘held hostage’ by her estranged husband.

Records show Latasha Brown filed suit Oct. 24 against the Tru by Hilton in Orangeburg, with multiple parties linked to the hotel named as defendants.

Our sister station, WIS, has reached out to Hilton for a statement regarding the suit.

Brown alleges that after she left her estranged husband in July 2024, he began stalking her and using GPS tracking to find her location. The lawsuit also cites one particular instance where he found her hiding in the trunk of her vehicle.

The lawsuit states Brown would stay in hotels to continue avoiding being stalked. It states that her husband tracked her to a hotel in July 2024 and attempted to confirm whether or not she was staying there and obtain a room key. The hotel did not do so, in a move that the lawsuit said followed industry standards.

On September 20, 2024, however, the lawsuit claims the Tru by Hilton in Orangeburg did the opposite.

It’s alleged Brown switched vehicles with a friend to try and avoid her husband locating her, noting that a GPS tracker was later found on her car.

The lawsuit claims her husband roamed around the hotel for hours before coming to the front desk, where a night auditor reportedly gave him a room key, told him what room Brown was in. According to the lawsuit, this was done without obtaining any form of identification or checking with Brown for authorization.

Brown claims she was “abused and held hostage” in her room for nearly five hours the next morning, with cries for help going unanswered by hotel staff. The lawsuit also alleges others were concerned, including a person staying next to the room Brown was in - but the concerns were not addressed by staff.

The lawsuit goes on to say that Brown was able to convince her husband that she had a work meeting and that her phone was dead - and that if she did not contact someone, police would be called. He also gave her $200 to fix her hair and nails, but Brown claims she ran through the lobby to get to her car after receiving the money.

Brown claims she was able to make it to her friend’s vehicle and eventually got away before flagging down an Orangeburg County deputy’s vehicle. She told the deputy what happened, leading to an investigation.

Tru by Hilton later filed an internal incident report, noted in the lawsuit, that stated security procedures were not followed. The lawsuit also claimed the night auditor “was not truthful” in their account of what happened. Documents go on to state the employee was later fired.

Brown is requesting a jury trial as well as damages.

If you or anyone you know is dealing with domestic violence, the following resources are always available:

• National Domestic Violence Hotline: 800-799-7233
• Pathways to Healing: 803-790-8208
• Sistercare: 803-926-0505
• Dickerson Children’s Advocacy Center: 803-358-7200