Our thoughts are will Barbara Corcoran and her family right now.
The Shark Tank star’s brother was found dead in his hotel room in the Dominican Republic back in April, and she’s not entirely sure what happened.
According to TMZ, the real estate mogul was told by officials that her brother John died of a heart attack while visiting the Caribbean nation with a friend for his annual vacation. John’s friend, who was staying in the same hotel suite, reportedly discovered the body.
However, there’s been no autopsy as far as Barbara’s aware.
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The businesswoman described the 60-year-old as her “favorite brother” among her 9 siblings, noting that he had a telegenetic personality and would have been great on TV.
Though he was retired, John owned a successful roofing company in New Jersey. He apparently loved visiting the D.R. and was awaiting the arrival of his girlfriend before he died, per the outlet.
While John’s death alone might not be alarming, the case is curiously similar to other mysterious tourist deaths in the country’s hotels over the past year.
Weirdly enough, six U.S. travelers have been found dead in the country since June 2018: two were found at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Punta Cana, while the remaining four were found at other Bahia Principe resorts.
Like John’s case, three of these deaths were reportedly due to heart attacks. But, according to the death certificate, one of these deaths was due to pulmonary edema — an accumulation of fluid in the lungs.
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In late May, a recently engaged Maryland couple, Edward Holmes and Cynthia Day, were found dead in their room on the day they were supposed to return from their vacation. At the time, the Dominican Republic National Police said their deaths were likely do to respiratory failure and pulmonary edema.
While the country’s tourism officials have considered the string of curious deaths to be isolated incidents, local authorities are investigating and have asked the FBI’s help to conduct “further toxicology analysis.”
Naturally, people are puzzled by these suspicious deaths — and theories have started to roll out on what might be the cause of it. One of the more unsettling theories is poisoning, due to the fact that two other couples who stayed at Bahia Principe resorts claimed to have gotten violently ill during their visit.
One of these couples claimed there was a “moldy, mildewy smell” in the room, while the other is suing the resort chain alleging they were exposed to insecticides.
It’s not clear where Barbara’s brother was staying at this time.
A memorial service is planned soon.
[Image via Sheri Determan/WENN.]
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