gmalet
06-27-2011, 05:05 PM
http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/article/1015355--canadian-s-death-in-dominican-republic-suspicious-police-say?bn=1
Alyshah Hasham
Staff Reporter
Police are investigating after the body of a Toronto man was found in suspicious circumstances in an apartment in the Dominican Republic.
Marcel G. Adam, 68, was found dead in his apartment in Sosua, a beach village east of Puerto Plata on Friday, according to a local newspaper.
The body showed signs of violence and police suspected he may have been robbed and left lying in the room for days, local news reports said. A report in Detras del Rumor indicated Adam’s death may have been caused by a gunshot or fatal blow on the head with a sharp object.
In Toronto, Adam’s wife, Claudette, told the Star she is waiting for an autopsy report to find out the cause of death. A “For Sale” sign is posted on the lawn of their home on Walker Ave., off of Yonge St.
In an email, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada said they are aware of the death of a Canadian citizen in the Dominican Republic and that “consular officials at the Canadian Embassy in Santo Domingo are working closely with local authorities to gather additional information and are providing consular assistance to the family.”
Quebec’s TVA News reported Sunday that a friend found Adam’s body on Friday upon arriving to drive Adam to the airport for a flight back to Canada.
Another unnamed friend of Adam’s told TVA News he had been to Adam’s apartment earlier in the week and seen a window open, which he said was unusual.
“This was someone who had a lot of money and showed it and talked about it,” the friend said in French.
Adam was found in his apartment in Sosua’s 120-unit Caribe Campo complex, where he had lived for three years and owned five apartments.
Last year, there were two violent incidents involving Canadians in the Sosua area. Jean Gagne of Quebec City was robbed at gunpoint, and shot in the chest, according to local police. A Quebec woman was also fatally stabbed in her home on a ranch near Sosua that same year.
In 2004, a 76-year-old Toronto man was hit over the head with a blunt object and strangled.
“Sosua has gained a bad reputation for prostitutes, minors and drugs,” said Norbert Preis, a German expatriate who runs an Internet message board aiming to track crime in the Dominican Republic, where he now lives.
There have also been a number of kidnappings on the island. In March, two Canadians were held for ransom in Santo Domingo. And in 2009, a Hamilton man was abducted at gunpoint from his home in Sosua, and returned unharmed after three weeks.
Last February, Jordan Morrison, 19, of Barrie, was fatally beaten outside a Punta Cana nightclub while vacationing with his family in the Dominican Republic
Alyshah Hasham
Staff Reporter
Police are investigating after the body of a Toronto man was found in suspicious circumstances in an apartment in the Dominican Republic.
Marcel G. Adam, 68, was found dead in his apartment in Sosua, a beach village east of Puerto Plata on Friday, according to a local newspaper.
The body showed signs of violence and police suspected he may have been robbed and left lying in the room for days, local news reports said. A report in Detras del Rumor indicated Adam’s death may have been caused by a gunshot or fatal blow on the head with a sharp object.
In Toronto, Adam’s wife, Claudette, told the Star she is waiting for an autopsy report to find out the cause of death. A “For Sale” sign is posted on the lawn of their home on Walker Ave., off of Yonge St.
In an email, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada said they are aware of the death of a Canadian citizen in the Dominican Republic and that “consular officials at the Canadian Embassy in Santo Domingo are working closely with local authorities to gather additional information and are providing consular assistance to the family.”
Quebec’s TVA News reported Sunday that a friend found Adam’s body on Friday upon arriving to drive Adam to the airport for a flight back to Canada.
Another unnamed friend of Adam’s told TVA News he had been to Adam’s apartment earlier in the week and seen a window open, which he said was unusual.
“This was someone who had a lot of money and showed it and talked about it,” the friend said in French.
Adam was found in his apartment in Sosua’s 120-unit Caribe Campo complex, where he had lived for three years and owned five apartments.
Last year, there were two violent incidents involving Canadians in the Sosua area. Jean Gagne of Quebec City was robbed at gunpoint, and shot in the chest, according to local police. A Quebec woman was also fatally stabbed in her home on a ranch near Sosua that same year.
In 2004, a 76-year-old Toronto man was hit over the head with a blunt object and strangled.
“Sosua has gained a bad reputation for prostitutes, minors and drugs,” said Norbert Preis, a German expatriate who runs an Internet message board aiming to track crime in the Dominican Republic, where he now lives.
There have also been a number of kidnappings on the island. In March, two Canadians were held for ransom in Santo Domingo. And in 2009, a Hamilton man was abducted at gunpoint from his home in Sosua, and returned unharmed after three weeks.
Last February, Jordan Morrison, 19, of Barrie, was fatally beaten outside a Punta Cana nightclub while vacationing with his family in the Dominican Republic