American teacher found tied up, tortured and strangled to death in Dominican Republic after apparent robbery
The body of an American woman was found tied up and bound in the Dominican Republic. The woman had been tortured and murdered during a robbery, according to the authorities.
63-year-old Patricia Ann Anton from Michigan was working as a teacher when she was found dead inside her home which is located in the province of Puerto Plata on Tuesday, November 12. Anton's hands and feet had been tied up. The authorities believe that she died after she was strangulated, local newspaper Lopez Doriga reported.
The authorities had also shared that Anton's body was on her bed and she had a gag inside her mouth. There were also signs that the Michigan woman had been tortured and physically abused, police spokesman Frank Duran shared with the local media. Her cellphone, laptop, as well as plasma TV, were missing. Her cupboards had also been ransacked which led the cops to believe that it was a robbery.
However, there were no signs of forced entry, which suggested that Anton possibly knew the person/people who had killed her. An investigation is currently ongoing though no suspects have been identified or linked to the case yet.
As per her LinkedIn profile, Anton had been born in Italy and was a curriculum program director at the Mariposas Montessori elementary school in Cabarete in the Dominican Republic. Cabarete is one of the Dominican Republic's poorest communities. She had been working there for the last six years and had earlier been an elementary school teacher in Traverse City in Michigan.
Demeter Russafov Dharma, the parent of a girl she taught, told a local news station, "Patty was one of those teachers whom our daughter would run to hug, and who would always treat the kids as her own. To find out that her life was senselessly cut short in such a cruel manner brings such pain and sadness".
Her body has been sent to forensic scientists for an autopsy and her family is flying into the Dominican Republic.