After receiving numerous disturbing testimonies from people convinced of having been drugged in the Dominican Republic, the mother of a 25-year-old Quebecer who mysteriously died there last January wants to warn travelers.
“People should be careful. That tells me that there are hidden things there,” laments Sylvie Marcotte, mother of William Gareau.
On February 23, The newspaper reported the sad death of the young man after a strange fall from three floors in full psychotic delirium at the Grand Bahia Principe Ambar, in Punta Cana, a five-star establishment.
William with his mother, Sylvie Marcotte, during their last vacation together, last December.
Photo provided by Sylvie Marcotte
William and his brother-in-law had been drinking at the hotel bar and appeared to have been intoxicated.
- Listen to the news segment with Maxime Deland via
:
Paranoia and impulse
From, The newspaper collected half a dozen worrying statements from vacationers saying they had experienced similar episodes there for several years.
Claude Dessureault, vacationer. Photo provided by Claude Dessureault
Confusion, paranoia, the urge to throw yourself off a balcony, vomiting, memory loss, extreme fatigue: the symptoms described send shivers down your spine.
This is what Claude Dessureault, 55, says, whose son and nephew drank at the bar of the neighboring hotel one evening in January 2023.
“They were rambling. My son had to be taken care of. He wanted to throw himself out of the window. He seemed possessed,” says the Trois-Rivières resident, who had never seen his 23-year-old senior like this.
John Bearisto, vacationer. Photo provided by John Bearisto
Ontarian John Bearisto, 51, also admits to having behaved strangely similar to that of William, also at Ambar, in 2019.
“I was running for my life, naked, thinking I was being chased by the cartel,” he confides.
Just one glass
Élaine Jobin is also certain that she and a friend of her daughter were drugged there a year ago.
The 63-year-old woman vomited and fell in the shower after having just one drink.
“When I read about William, it tore my heart out. It could have been one of us,” she says alarmed.
- Listen to the interview with Sylvie Marcotte, William Gareau’s mother, via QUB :
Moreover, a 56-year-old from Brossard would have lost his life in almost identical circumstances, in November 2021, still at Ambar.
“He was screaming for help in the corridor, like William. He then jumped from the first floor balcony, into the swimming pool,” whispers his 32-year-old niece, who wants to keep her identity secret for personal reasons, and who believes that her uncle was poisoned.
She says she is still shaken by the lack of collaboration from local authorities.
Roxanne Brissette and William Gareau during their last trip together, last January.
Photo provided by Roxanne Brissette
Convinced
“These other cases anger me. It makes me think that perhaps William was wanted to be drugged, laments Roxanne Brissette, his 23-year-old girlfriend, who experienced his death up close. We must alert the world. We’re supposed to go there on vacation.”
Mr Conrad Lord, lawyer Photo taken from the site lordabovats.com
With these testimonies, Sylvie Marcotte is now convinced that her son, William, did not commit any voluntary action. She says she is relieved, but more than ever wants to shed light on the death of her child. She is now relying on the help of a lawyer and private investigators.
“We collect information. That of the public is very important,” says Me Conrad Lord.
For their part, the Bahia Principe hotel complexes say they are sorry for this “unfortunate accident”. They believe they have provided the necessary relief and assistance.
Despite our questions about the other cases, the public relations firm representing them only says that the investigation into William’s death is continuing.
Other disturbing facts:
- In 2019, a dozen Americans mysteriously died over the course of a year at all-inclusive resorts in the Dominican Republic. Four of them died in an establishment in the Bahia Principe chain, according to The Press.
- On February 14, 2019, Danielle Twoheart allegedly jumped from a three-story balcony of a hotel in the Dominican Republic, several media reported. Her mother, Holly Twoheart, never believed she had done something intentional, she told APTN News.
- On November 13, 2018, Quebecer Claude Veilleux died suspiciously in a hotel in the Bahia Principe chain, in Punta Cana, in the Dominican Republic. Her family had difficulty believing in her “natural death”, she confided to The Press.