Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

3 American tourists found dead @ Sandals in Bahamas

3 American tourists found dead @ Sandals in Bahamas

Three days after the deaths of three guests at Sandals Emerald Bay Resort in Exuma, Bahamas authorities say they still aren't sure what killed them.
On Friday, two men and a woman were found dead in two separate beachfront villas. On Monday, the deceased were identified as Michael and Robbie Phillips of Tennessee, and Vincent Chiarella of Florida, all in their sixties. Chiarella's wife Donnis had to be airlifted to a hospital, in critical condition.

The cause of death of the three American citizens is unknown at this time, but Bahamas Health Minister Dr. Michael Darville said last week that there is no suspicion of foul play. Ahead of press time on Monday, Bahamas Police Commissioner Paul Rolle revealed to local, regional and international press that autopsies were scheduled to be performed later in the day. Authorities are also reportedly awaiting toxicology reports from tests performed on samples taken from the victims, although the commissioner warned that those results could take some time.

Rolle resisted invitations from journalists to speculate on what might be responsible for the deaths of the three individuals, deflecting questions designed to elicit clues on whether there could have been contamination in the cooling systems of the two villas in which the guests died, or a possible common denominator in the food they may have eaten prior to falling ill.

Police, in a Friday statement, said they'd been told that morning that multiple people had been found dead. Upon arrival at Sandals Emerald Bay, they found one man lying unresponsive in the bedroom of his accommodation. No signs of trauma were found following an examination. In the second villa, they found the second man slumped against a bathroom wall unresponsive, with an unresponsive woman on the bed of that unit. No signs of trauma were found on these bodies either.

Police also said on Friday their investigations had revealed that the couple in the second unit - the Phillips from Tennessee - had visited a local medical facility on Thursday complaining of feeling ill. Minister Darville described their symptoms as nausea and vomiting, and said that after the pair were treated, it was recommended by a doctor that they be airlifted to a hospital in New Providence, however they refused and returned to the property.

As it turns out, Donnis Chiarella, the only surviving member of the quartet, also sought out medical treatment on Thursday. According to her son Austin, who spoke to ABC news, his mother felt ill and visited a local clinic. She too returned to her lodgings after she was released, but woke up the next morning to a horrific scene - Austin told ABC News that his mother found her husband on the floor, and herself immobile with arms and legs swollen. She had to scream to get someone to come to the door, the grieving man told the news outlet.

Health officials say that the visitors' illness and deaths are not Covid-19 related.

Sandals, a Jamaican hospitality giant with properties in Jamaica, the Bahamas, and several Eastern Caribbean islands, has referred to the deaths as a quote "health emergency", and in a terse statement said that they were actively working to support both the ongoing investigation and the families of the deceased at this time.

During today's press conference, MrRolle reminded the public that this was still very much active investigation, disclosing that police and public health officials were still processing the scene of the deaths for any additional evidence that could help shed light on what exactly led to this tragic outcome.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×