Mysterious Dominican Republic Tourist Deaths: The Victims So Far

At least ten American tourists have died while vacationing in the Dominican Republic since summer 2018. Some of them passed away in what appear to be bizarre — and similar — circumstances. Here are the victims who have been confirmed by the U.S. State Department. 
By Steve Helling
June 24, 2019 11:39 AM

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NATHANIEL EDWARD HOLMES, 63, and CYNTHIA ANN DAY, 49

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On May 30, 2019, the couple was found dead in their hotel room at the Grand Bahia Principe La Romana resort. According to the autopsy report, the couple suffered respiratory failure and fluid accumulation in their lungs, with Day also suffering a cerebral edema, though the cause of the fatal episodes was not clear and toxicology results are still pending.

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YVETTE MONIQUE SPORT, 51

The Pennsylvania woman had just arrived at the Bahia Príncipe resort in Punta Cana when she died in June 2018. Sport, a bride-to-be traveling with her fiancé, had a drink from the minibar, took a shower, went to bed and was found unresponsive the next morning. Though her death was initially ruled a heart attack, her cause of death is being investigated again.

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DAVID HARRISON, 45

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Harrison was celebrating his wedding anniversary with his wife and 12-year-old son when he died suddently at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Punta Cana in July of 2018. His cause of death was listed as heart attack as well as pulmonary edema, an accumulation of fluid in the lungs that can cause respiratory failure, and atherosclerosis.

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MIRANDA SCHAUP-WERNER, 41

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On May 25 of this year, the Pennsylvania psychotherapist collapsed after mixing a drink from the minibar in the Luxury Bahia Principe Bouganville in La Romana, where she was celebrating her ninth wedding anniversary with husband Daniel Werner. According to autopsy results, she died of a heart attack that caused respiratory failure and fluid accumulation in her lungs.

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ROBERT BELL WALLACE, 67

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The California construction company owner died in April while staying at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino resort in Punta Cana to attend his stepson's wedding. His family says that he became ill after having a drink from the his hotel room’s minibar. He died three days later, and his family claims that authorities have not given them a cause of death.

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JOSEPH ALLEN, 55

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Hotel workers found the New Jersey man dead on the floor of his room at the Terra Linda in Sosua on June 13. A cause of death has not yet been released, but his family says they intend to order an independent autopsy.

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LEYLA COX, 53

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The Staten Island woman was found dead in her hotel room at the Excellence Hotel and Resort in Punta Cana on June 10. In a press conference, Public Health Minister Rafael Sanchez Cardenas spoke out about the case, saying that Leyla Cox had an enlarged heart, high blood pressure and that she had suffered "several past heart attacks" — an assertion her family disputes

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CHRIS PALMER, 41

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A military veteran who worked as a scuba diving instructor, Palmer was staying at the Villa Cocotal Palma resort in Punta Cana. The resort is close to the other properties where tourists have mysteriously died. After complaining of a headache, he was found dead in his room on April 18, 2018. Dominican authorities said he aspirated on his own vomit. His family says he was previously healthy.

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Vittorio Caruso, 56

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The pizza shop owner from Glen Cove, New York, fell ill on June 17 while staying at the Boca Chica Resort in Santo Domingo. His sister-in-law told Fox News that Caruso had gone into "respiratory distress after drinking something." An autopsy has been performed but the results have not been publicly released.

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