Police investigate mysterious deaths of 3 Americans in Bahamas hotel

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Police have identified the three Americans who died mysteriously at a Bahamas resort over the weekend.
• Officials sent samples to a toxicology lab in Pennsylvania to determine the cause of the tourists’ deaths.
• The three Americans were found dead inside separate villas on Friday morning while a fourth victim was airlifted to a hospital in Florida.

The Royal Bahamian Police Force (RBPF) identified three American tourists who mysteriously died at an island resort over the weekend.

Commissioner Paul Rolle identified couple Michael Phillips, 68, and Robbie Phillips, 65, from Tennessee. They were found dead at the Sandals Resort on the island of Exuma.

The third tourist was identified as Vincent Paul Chiarella, 64, of Florida, who also died at the resort.

The fourth victim is Vincent Chiarella’s wife, Donnis Chiarella, 65. She was airlifted to a hospital in Miami, where she is being treated.

Samples were sent to a toxicology lab in Pennsylvania to expedite the testing to determine the cause of the tourists’ deaths. Forensic scientists had gathered additional samples from the villas for testing.

Officials suspected a coolant leak from an air conditioner may have caused the deaths but the police commissioner did not confirm it.

“We really want to know what caused this without speculation,” Rolle said.

On Friday morning, the tourists were found dead inside separate villas. Foul play is not suspected as they all appeared to die from an illness. There was no indication of physical trauma, according to police.

Police found Chiarella in his bedroom, lying on the ground. The Phillips couple was found in a separate villa, the husband “slumped against a wall in a bathroom unresponsive” and the wife unresponsive on a bed. The Phillips couple showed signs of convulsion.

On Thursday night, all four victims had reported feeling sick and were seen by doctors around 11 p.m. The four tourists were discovered the next morning around 9 a.m.

The Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Tourism and officials from the U.S. Embassy are all assisting with an investigation into the mysterious deaths, the Office of the Prime Minister said.

Source: The Hill