Nearly a week after a Delaware woman came forward with her story ofallegedly being brutally attackedat the Majestic Elegance in the Dominican Republic, the all-inclusive resort is addressing the incident.
In a statement issued on their Twitter Wednesday, Majestic Elegance shared the hotel’s side of the “confusing incident” from January 29 and refuted Tammy Lawrence-Daley’s previous claims thatauthorities and hotel staff had mishandled the case.
The hotel also argued that in the wake of the alleged attack, Lawrence-Daley, 51, requested $2.2 million in compensation and when she did not receive a “positive response, she disclosed her version of the case, four months after it happened.”
Lawrence-Daley did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Beginning the note, Majestic Elegance’s statement said that when Lawrence-Daley went missing one day after checking in with her husband and friends, it “rigorously implemented the security protocol provided for the cases when information is received of a guest in trouble.”
“She was found at 6:40 in the morning at a restricted area of the hotel. She showed bruises on her face and had a broken fingernail, without presenting any other signs of violence on her body, and still being in possession of her purse, cell phone, and other belongings.”
Photos taken of Lawrence-Daley in the hospital showed her eyes swollen shut and her face bloodied, bruised, and swollen. In aninterview with PEOPLE on May 30, she also said she had suffered “scratch marks” from being dragged down a flight of concrete stairs, as well as bruises, scratches and “damage down there” from a possible sexual assault.
Majestic Elegance Resort.Majestic Elegance
Majestic Elegance claimed employees went out of their way to “provide assistance and ensure that [Lawrence-Daley’s] needs were met,” which included having a hotel staff member stay at the hospital with her and her husband, paying for hospital expenses, offering a complimentary extension of their hotel stay, and arranging travel accommodations for when they left.
“Upon her return to the hotel, special meals were prepared for her, as she had difficulty eating solid foods,” the hotel wrote. “During this period, a delegate from the United States embassy visited Mrs. Lawrence-Daley to understand the situation. She refused to present any legal accusations despite the recommendations of the local authorities.”
In her interview with PEOPLE, Lawrence-Daley said she allowed their butler to come to the hospital and stayed in the country three extra days to testify, but claimed the hotel did not cover her medical expenses once she returned home.
After noting that Lawrence-Daley allegedly demanded $2.2 million in compensation, the hotel acknowledged that authorities investigating understand “the scenario is still unclear, and that there are weak points, contradictions on the information offered, and that there are still unanswered questions in this strange and unusual case.”
The investigation remains ongoing and Majestic Elegance said it was continuing to cooperate with local authorities.
Tammy Lawrence
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Majestic Elegance’s statement comes just days after Lawrence-Daley’s husband,Christopher Daley, publicly criticizedthe police and hotel staff for mishandling the case.
Last Friday, Daley claimed to NBC10 that they delayed the administration of a rape kit and failed to follow up on evidence and share important documents with the family’s attorneys. During herinterview with PEOPLE, Lawrence-Daley said she is not entirely sure if she was sexually assaulted.
A spokesperson with the Dominican Republic Attorney General’s Office told NBC10 her rape kit came up negative, but Lawrence Daley previously told PEOPLE her kit wasn’t administered for 48 hours, which she believes might have compromised the result.
“We had to force them to do a rape kit and that didn’t happen until 48 hours later. And even at that point it was an external swab, that was it,” Lawrence-Daley told the Associated Press.
However, spokespersons from both national and local police have disputed the couple’s claims that they mishandled the case, saying that as soon as they heard of Lawrence-Daley’s attack, investigators followed protocol collecting evidence, conducting interviews and taking her testimony.
“There is a lot of conjecture about the case, a lot of information that doesn’t match some of the statements,” National police spokesman Col. Frank Felix Duran told the AP. “We have to wait for the investigation to end.”
WARNING: Photo below may be distressing to some readers.
Tammy Lawrence-Daley after the attack.Tammy Lawrence
source: people.com
