The Delaware woman who was severely beaten at a luxury resort in the Dominican Republic says that she blames herself for the horrifying incident.
Tammy Lawrence-Daley relived her January attack during an interview with CBS This Morning in her first TV appearance.
‘It’s very difficult, very difficult reliving,’ Lawrence-Daley said. ‘I could hear footfalls behind me. And before I could turn around, he plowed into the back of me.’
Scroll down for preview
Tammy Lawrence-Daley relived the horrifying hours of her January attack at the Majestic Elegance resort during her first public appearance
The 51-year-old had been on vacation with her husband at the Majestic Elegance Resort in the Dominican Republic when she says that she went out alone to get a snack at 10.30pm.
She claims that the man pushed her from behind and she tried to fight him off, only to lose consciousness as he beat her.
‘When I came to, it was to him beating me,’ Lawrence-Daley said. ‘About the head. Kicking me and beating me.’
Lawrence-Daley claims that the man pushed her from behind and she tried to fight him off, only to lose consciousness as he beat her at the Dominican resort
She said: ‘You just have a feeling of safety and a feeling of, you know, paradise, but this can happen. It has happened and it will happen again.’
Lawrence-Daley was found hours after the attack in an underground crawl space.
She spent days in a local hospital and underwent months of physical and emotional therapy. A rape kit was administered but too much time had past for there to be definitive results.
She said: ‘You just have a feeling of safety and a feeling of, you know, paradise, but this can happen. It has happened and it will happen again.’
And while she is thankful to be alive, Lawrence-Daley does blame herself for the attack.
Lawrence-Daley was found hours after the attack in an underground crawl space. She spent days in a local hospital and underwent months of physical and emotional therapy.
‘I just, if I didn’t go down there by myself, it wouldn’t have happened,’ Lawrence-Daley said. ‘I wouldn’t have put my family through that.’
She would later state in an interview with People: ‘I internalize this. ‘This is my fault, I got myself into this situation. I feel horrendous that I put my husband and my friends through this situation. Their lives are changed forever, as well as mine.’
The person responsible for the attack has not been found and Lawrence-Daley said that police investigation led nowhere. The hotel has not taken responsibility for the attack.
‘I really hate the way they handled everything,’ she said.
‘I’m at the point where I feel strong enough that I want to get this information out there because women need to understand they can’t walk around by themselves. I hate to say that, but it’s the truth. What I went through, I would never wish on anyone.’
And the mother-of-two shared that her life has been altered by the attack.
‘I always said the one thing I loved about myself was my smile,’ she said. ‘I always have a smile for everybody, I love my sense of humor and that’s the one thing that guy stole from me. He stole my smile and that just kills me.’
She has since returned to her job as a finance manager but shared that she now has to stay in a personal office.
‘I do have issues today reacting to men and them coming at me, even in a friendly manner … My head is on a swivel,’ she said. ‘I’m looking out the corner of my eye, I’m turning around. I can’t walk down corridors without having panic attacks.’
Lawrence-Daley had been staying at the all-inclusive resort in Punta Cana with her husband Christoper and another couple when the attack occurred.
In a lengthy Facebook post detailing the attack, Lawrence-Daley shared photos of her gruesome, bruised and bloodied facial injuries.
The mother-of-two said she spent five days in a local hospital recovering and had to have surgery to repair her injuries – some of which she is still reeling from four months later.
Lawrence-Daley claims she was attacked by a hotel employee because she remembers seeing him in a uniform with the resort logo on it. She has accused the resort of refusing to claim responsibility for the incident.
DailyMail.com has contacted Majestic Elegance for comment.
She said the attack occurred on her second day at the resort at about 10.30pm when she stepped out of her room to get a snack and take photos of the moon from the beach.
She recalls telling her husband that she would be back in five minutes but Lawrence-Daley said she ended up going missing for eight hours.
The mother-of-two said she spent five days in a local hospital recovering and had to have surgery to repair her injuries – some of which she is still reeling from four months later
Lawrence-Daley said she remembers being ‘plowed into from behind’ and felt her attacker’s arms around her as he pulled her into a nearby unlocked maintenance room.
‘I fought with everything I had at that moment. He was too strong. The next eight hours brought me pain and fear,’ she said.
Lawrence-Daley said she can remember being strangled multiple times and that she repeatedly fell unconscious.
She said her attacker later dragged her down concrete stairs to an underground waste water area in what she says was an attempt to hide her body and mask the sound of the attack.
‘I was kicked in the head, I was beaten with a club. And then strangled again for the kill; at which time he disposed of my body into an area I refer to as the ‘hole’,’ she said.
‘I was unconscious multiple times during this savage attack, so I have no idea what else was done to me during that time. Somehow I survived.’
She claims her husband and friends went to the front desk three times after she went missing before security started to look for her.
In her Facebook post, Lawrence-Daley said the hotel security took a quad bike down to the beach assuming she was ‘drunk somewhere’.
‘I went missing at 10.30 and was found over eight hours later. It was hell,’ she said.
Lawrence-Daley claims she was attacked by a hotel employee because she remembers seeing him in a uniform with the resort logo on it. DailyMail.com has contacted the resort for comment
Tammy (above with her husband and two sons) said the attack occurred on her second day at the resort at about 10.30pm when she stepped out of her room to get a snack and take photos of the moon from the beach
Lawrence-Daley said she remembers being ‘plowed into from behind’ and felt her attacker’s arms around her as he pulled her into a nearby unlocked maintenance room
After being found the following day, Lawrence-Daley said she spent five days in a local hospital to have surgery for her undisclosed injuries.
‘I am still dealing with several issues, including nerve damage, as well as, all of the medical expenses since being home,’ she said.
‘Majestic Elegance claims no responsibility for the attack since I couldn’t identify the attacker even though he was wearing a uniform with the resort logo and hit me directly in front of the unlocked maintenance room and dragged me down concrete stairs to a basement so that no one could hear or find me.
‘Police did find evidence of the blood smeared mop handle and a maintenance hat in the area I was found but this means nothing in these countries.’
She said she was speaking out about her ordeal in a bid to warn other travelers to be wary.
‘This man thought he killed me, but he failed. He is still out there, a predator, waiting for his next victim. Only the next woman may not be so fortunate. Please, please do not walk alone. These attacks are happening too frequently and the criminals are not being prosecuted even though evidence is found.
‘Victims are not being compensated for medical or pain and suffering, and the resorts are not held liable. Majestic Elegance didn’t offer to reimburse us for our vacation, let alone my current medical bills.
‘When you are in unfamiliar places, or even in familiar places, please remember… be smart, be safe.’