What to Know
- A Delaware woman is speaking out months after she says she was brutally attacked during a vacation in the Dominican Republic.
- Tammy Lawrence-Daley says she was beaten by an unidentified man for 8 hours while at a Punta Cana resort in January.
- No arrests have been made. Lawrence-Daley claims the man was wearing a resort uniform.
A Delaware woman is speaking out months after she says she was brutally attacked during a vacation in the Dominican Republic.
Tammy Lawrence-Daley of Wilmington shared her story Wednesday in a Facebook post that has since gone viral. Lawrence-Daley wrote that she went on vacation at the end of January with her husband and two friends at the all-inclusive resort Majestic Elegance in Punta Cana.
On her second night at the resort, Lawrence-Daley went to a lounge on the beach to grab some food. As she walked between buildings she was suddenly attacked from behind by an unidentified man.
Lawrence-Daley said the man forced her into an unlocked maintenance room and beat her for eight hours, strangling her and causing her to lose consciousness multiple times.
“My lifeless body was drug down concrete stairs to an underground waste water area,” she wrote. “I was kicked in the head, I was beaten with a club. And then strangled again for the kill; at which time he disposed of my body into an area I refer to as the ‘hole.’”
Lawrence-Daley wrote that she was unconscious several times during the attack.
U.S. & World
The day's top national and international news.
“I just remember thinking at that point I wasn’t going to make it home to see my boys and my husband,” she told NBC News while in tears.
Lawrence-Daley said her attacker finally fled the scene and she was eventually found. She spent five days at an offsite hospital and underwent surgery for her injuries. She also shared photos of her lying in a hospital bed bloody and badly bruised.
“I am still dealing with several issues, including nerve damage, as well as, all of the medical expenses since being home,” she wrote.
Lawrence-Daley said there were no surveillance cameras or bright lights where the attack took place and she was unable to identify the man. She also said however that he was wearing a uniform with the resort logo on it.
“Police did find evidence of the blood smeared mop handle and a maintenance hat in the area I was found, but this means nothing in these countries,” she wrote.
Lawrence-Daley said Majestic Elegance claimed no responsibility in the attack and that her husband and friends went to the front desk at least three times throughout the night before security at the resort searched for her. She claimed she wasn’t found until more than eight hours after the attack took place.
“Majestic Elegance didn't offer to reimburse us for our vacation, let alone my current medical bills,” she wrote. “Litigation went nowhere. Stories are being squashed.”
NBC10 reached out to Majestic Elegance. A spokesperson said they are still working on a statement in response to Lawrence-Daley’s allegations. The social media pages for the resort also went offline Thursday night. NBC10 also checked with the State Department who said they are in contact with Dominican authorities and investigating the incident. No arrests have been made.
Lawrence-Daley meanwhile continues to recover and wants her story shared as a warning to others.
“He is still out there, a predator, waiting for his next victim,” she wrote. “Only the next woman may not be so fortunate. Please, please do not walk alone. These attacks are happening too frequently and the criminals are NOT being prosecuted even though evidence is found.”
