FBI testing minibar samples at Dominican Republic resort: report
The FBI is reportedly analyzing alcohol samples from at least one minibar at the popular Bahia Príncipe resort in the Dominican Republic to see if hotel booze is, in fact, to blame for the country’s recent string of tourist deaths.
Ministry of Health communications director Carlos Suero told CNN on Wednesday that toxicology tests were being run on the samples to see if there’s anything out of the ordinary.
The FBI’s involvement in the case was announced last week — with law enforcement sources telling The Post that agents were collecting blood samplesfrom those who have died under mysterious circumstances.
Officials are trying to figure out whether the victims drank the resort liquor before their deaths, and if the drinks had any dangerous chemicals in them, the sources said.
Suero told CNN that the FBI was comparing the minibar samples to blood from at least three of the nine Americans who have died in the DR over the past year. The results are expected to take up to 30 days.
The victims that federal agents chose to analyze were all found dead in their rooms at the Bahia Príncipe Hotel in La Romana back in May, according to Suero.
Miranda Schaup-Werner, a 41-year-old from Pennsylvania, collapsed and died after allegedly having a drink from her hotel room’s minibar.
Nathaniel Holmes, 63, and Cynthia Ann Day, 49, were discovered in their room days later — with no signs of violence or foul play.
Their deaths came nearly a year after Philadelphia resident Yvette Monique Short, 51, died suddenly while staying at the Bahia Príncipe. Her sister claims that she drank from the minibar, went to bed and never woke up.
A Colorado couple is suing the hotel’s owners, claiming that they got sick at the hotelbut managed to survive.
“I honestly believe the truth needs to be told,” said Kaylynn Knull, who was visiting with her boyfriend Tom Schwander. “This sounds way too similar at the same resort.”
