An American woman died in her hotel room while vacationing in the Dominican Republic five days before a Maryland couple was found dead in their room at the same resort. All three had the same cause of death, respiratory failure and pulmonary edema.
Miranda Schaupp-Werner had just arrived at the Grand Bahía Príncipe hotel with her husband, Daniel Werner, when she began to feel sick after having a drink from the minibar in her room.
"At one point, she was sitting there happily smiling and taking pictures, and the next moment she was in acute pain and called out for Dan, and she collapsed," Jay McDonald, Schaupp-Werner's brother-in-law told WFMZ.
Schaupp-Werner's family became suspicious after they heard that Edward Nathaniel Holmes and Cynthia Ann Day had died at the same hotel. The couple had checked into the hotel on the same day as Schaup-Werner and her husband. Their bodies were discovered five days later after they failed to check out from their room on time.
"The bizarre issue of the same hotel and these things happening within days of each other and the complete unexpected nature of what happened to Miranda...we just want to understand this," McDonald said.
Officials in the Dominican Republic have launched an investigation into the deaths of Holmes and Day but decided that Schaupp-Werner's death was not suspicious and are not looking into it.
McDonald contacted that State Department and asked them to look into circumstances around her death and suggested that she may have been poisoned.
The State Department says they are monitoring the investigation and has offered to provide assistance to local authorities.
"We offer our sincerest condolences to the family on their loss," a State Department official said. "We are in close contact with local authorities regarding their investigation into the cause of death. We stand ready to provide all appropriate consular assistance. The U.S. Department of State and our embassies and consulates abroad have no greater responsibility than the protection of U.S. citizens overseas. Out of respect to the family during this difficult time, we have no further comment."