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Mother Of NYC Teacher Who Died In Dominican Republic Says Officials ‘Lying’ About Cause Of Death
The Basílica Catedral Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia at Higuey, D.R. (Public Domain)
The mother of the Bronx, N.Y., teacher who died while hik- ing in the Dominican Republic is blasting authorities for al- legedly ‘lying’ about her son’s cause of death.
Ex Georgia Cop Cuts Plea Deal
Terrence Richmond,
56, was reportedly on vaca- tion when he collapsed and died during a hike near the central highlands town of Jarabacoa on August 29, 2018, CBS Baltimore reports.
His mother, Annette Wedington, of Baltimore, was told he died of a heart at- tack, but she believes some- thing far more sinister was at play that fateful day.
“He was beaten because his knuckles were bruised all up,” Wedington said. “He had a fractured skull and he had a bruise on his back like he had been kicked.”
The heartbroken mother was compelled to speak out after several other families came forward about their rel- atives who died while staying at all-inclusive resorts in the Dominican Republic. As many as nine Americans have
been reported dead under mysterious circumstances since 2018.
Officials may be pushing her to accept the heart attack tale, but an autopsy Wed- ington obtained from the country’s National Institute of Forensic Sciences (INACIF) showed her son had fluid in his lungs and a cracked skull.
She wants the public to know that her son coached gymnastics and was in shape. “He was healthy. I know they’re lying. I just want clo- sure.”
In an interview with the “TODAY” show, Wedington noted that officials held on to her son’s body for a month. She had to pay $4,000 to transport his remains back to the United States, and an- other $1,000 to get his back- pack, wallet and camera from officials.
Former Sgt. Michael Bongiovanni and then Of- ficer Robert McDonald punched then kicked Demetrius Hollins in the head while he was hand- cuffed in 2017.
Hollins was not able to record, but ultimately, two videos surfaced of the two of- ficers beating him down, which backed up his version of what took place.
On Tuesday, Bongio- vanni pled no contest to ag- gravated assault and battery charges two weeks before his trial was set to begin, Gwin- nett District Attorney Danny Porter said.
As part of the deal, the dis- graced cop will spend six months in jail on a work re- lease program, the AJC re- ports. After he’s completed his six-month bid, Bongio- vanni will be on house arrest for an additional five months, tethered to an ankle monitor, Porter said.
Former Sgt. Michael Bongiovanni and Officer Robert McDonald
After Brutally Beating Up
Unarmed Black Man
Bongiovanni’s plea deal puts his partner in a bad predicament. McDonald’s trial hasn’t been set.
The officers were fired after the video of the violent encounter surfaced.
During a traffic stop, the police encountered Hollis and hit him in the face and taunted that there was no video evidence to prove it.
“He start(ed) shoving me in my car and telling me that I was never going to have a
video, that I was never going to make the phone call to my mom,” Hollins told NBC News previously. “When I had my hands up, that’s when he punched me in the face.”
“It was so surreal,” Hollins said of the attack.
Gwinnett Police Chief Butch Ayers said McDon- ald was remorseful, however, Bongiovanni wasn’t and said in his defense, “It’s dif- ferent out on the streets.”
Woman Suing Harvard Over Slave Portraits Gets Key Support
A woman suing Harvard University over 19th century images of slaves she says were her ancestors has received the backing of descendants of the professor who commissioned the images in his attempt to prove blacks were inferior to whites.
Dozens of descendants of professor Louis Agassiz have signed a letter saying it’s time for Harvard to recognize Agassiz for the racist he was and calling on the Ivy League school to hand over the images to Tamara Lanier.
The Agassiz descendants as well as Lanier have scheduled a news conference Thursday.
The Norwich, Connecticut, woman wants Harvard to give her the images and pay un- specified damages.
A Harvard spokeswoman in an emailed statement Thurs- day said while she cannot com- ment on pending litigation, the school takes great care of the images.
In this March 20, 2019 file photo Tamara Lanier attends a news conference near the Harvard Club, in New York. Lanier, of Norwich, Conn., is suing the Harvard University for "wrongful seizure, posses- sion and expropriation" of im- ages she says depict two of her ancestors. Descendants of a Harvard professor who com- missioned a series of 1850 photos of slaves say they're backing the lawsuit against the university.
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