The woman whosays she was brutally attacked in Januaryat a resort in the Dominican Republic has accused the all-inclusive of attempting to “blame the victim” after the hotel addressed the incident Wednesday in a statement.
On Wednesday, nearly a week after the woman’s Facebook post, which received extensive media coverage, the resortissued a statementdenying Lawrence-Daley’s allegations. The hotel’s statement also accused her ofrequesting $2.2 million in compensation, saying that when she did not receive a “positive response, she disclosed her version of the case, four months after it happened.”
A statement issued Friday on behalf of Lawrence-Daley asserts that she and her attorneys “feel confident that viewers and the public can see that the hotel’s attempt to blame the victim in this case is their last plea to avoid taking responsibility for their failures.”
• Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Clickhereto get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.
Lawrence-Daley’s statement says that at the time of the assault, hotel cameras were not operable. The statement also accuses the hotel of delaying a search for the woman while she lay in an underground piped area filled with inches of wastewater for the next eight hours.
Tammy Lawrence
Lawrence-Daleypreviously alleged to PEOPLEthat while she was missing, a hotel staff member told her husband she was possibly drunk and sleeping it off. She also said her husband had to go to the front desk at least three times before security began searching for his wife.
Majestic Elegance Resort.Majestic Elegance
A spokesperson with the Dominican Republic Attorney General’s Officetold NBC10her 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.
WARNING: Photo below may be distressing to some readers.
Tammy Lawrence-Daley after the attack.Tammy Lawrence
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 Associated Press. “We have to wait for the investigation to end.”
Speaking to NBC10, Punta Cana Tourism Police spokesman Ramón Brito said investigators found “incongruencies” and “discrepancies” in Daley’s interview with police.
Today Show
The hotel, in its statement, said it “rigorously implemented the security protocol provided for the cases when information is received of a guest in trouble.”
Addressing the police claims of discrepancies in the couple’s account, the hotel statement said that “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 AP reported that after a three-month investigation, Majestic Elegance’s insurance company informed Lawrence-Daley in a letter that the hotel bore no responsibility due to the fact she was unable to identify her attacker. Lawrence-Daley told PEOPLE she was unable to see her attacker because her eyes were swollen shut from her injuries and she lost consciousness.
The resort did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
The investigation remains ongoing and Majestic Elegance has said it is cooperating with local authorities.
source: people.com
