Brian Manucci
By: The Family of Brian Manucci
On August 9, 2013, Brian Manucci and his two friends flew into Cancun, Mexico to begin a weeklong vacation at the Grand Oasis Resort, an all-inclusive resort with Cancun’s largest pool. The first day was spent on the beach tossing a football and having a few drinks. Brian was tired from the long flight that left Philadelphia at 7:00 a.m. and decided to go to bed early (7:00 pm) while his two friends went out. The next morning Brian was bright eyed and excited. He woke up and cleaned before heading to the beach for a swim and had breakfast. He came back to the room and woke his friends up to hit the pool.
Around noon on Saturday, August 10, Brian and his two friends began drinking Margaritas at one of the hotel bars. His friends starting talking to some girls at another bar so Brian went off to the swim up bar alone. He checked back in with his friends around 4:00 p.m. and mentioned that he was given a strong drink from the bartender. Brian returns to the swim up bar and within an hour, his friends notice the commotion around the pool. A Canadian tourist had pulled Brian from the pool where witnesses say he was under for almost 2 minutes. The pool is so large that there are hundreds of people around, yet Brian just slipped under. According to a witness, two female Canadian nurses began CPR and Brian’s friend come over to assist. Brian spit out some water and vomit, but was blue. Soon the hotel party promoters cleared the scene and instructed everyone to get away from Brian. None of the “lifeguards” on duty intervened and no one except the tourists knew CPR. The ambulance arrives at the hotel entrance and the EMT’s come in with a stretcher. They do not use a heart defibrillator; instead, they just put an oxygen mask on Brian and take him outside. The friend who conducted CPR believes that Brian passed away there by the pool.
Outside, the EMT’s will not allow either of Brian’s friends to get into the ambulance, so they take a bus to the private hospital. The doctor informs them that Brian he is dead. They leave the hospital crying. Once back at the hotel, Brian’s friends are contacted by the coroner, who advises them they are required to go to the morgue the next day, sign papers and turn over Brian’s passport. They also receive a call later in the evening from a person claiming to work for the hospital. The individual wants to know how they will be paid the $1,800 in medical bills incurred by Brian. Although neither of them have the money to pay the fee, one of Brian’s friends lies and says, “I will pay. I just have to get my checkbook. I am an investment banker and I will write you a check in the morning. Just tell me what happened to Brian.” The hospital front-desk receptionist tells them it was a heart attack. The coroner called later that day and advises them that they had to change the day to come to the morgue from Sunday to Monday. The coroner called again Monday and told the friends that he had to change the date to Tuesday. Finally, after 72 hours had passed, they are picked up and driven to a police station located an hour from the resort. The police station is located in a desolate area with chickens running around and random people lined up outside. They are not allowed to see the body. Instead, they are intimated into signing a document stating that the cause of death was “freshwater drowning, alcohol intoxication, and asphyxiation.” The entire document is written in Spanish. Fearing they would be detained if they did not sign the document, they sign it as instructed and are taken back to the resort. The funeral home director then contracts Brian’s mother and confirms that the cause of death is drowning due to intoxication. He requests that $6,000 cash by wired to him to return Brian’s body to the United States. Along this rocky road, his friends were pick-pocketed twice; once outside the resort and once on the resort.
So here are the questions: Why would the hospital receptionist report a different cause of death than the coroner? How could Brian Manucci be so drunk that he passes out in a pool in front of 100’s of people? If he had a heart attack, why does no one hear him yell? Why didn’t anyone working at the resort intervene to offer life saving support? Why wait 72 hours until the friends were brought out to the police station? Why weren’t they ever able to see Brian again after they put him in the ambulance? Why are there numerous stories of tourists in Mexico getting roofied and then robbed and/or sent to the hospital where they are charged high prices for medical care?
The autopsy (performed in Mexico) revealed no evidence of a heart attack. Anyone who knows Brian would never believe that he could be so drunk that he would just pass out in a pool - unless he was given Rophlyn, illegal is USA but legal and widely used in Mexico. There are numerous accounts of others who not only were roofied and got sick or passed out, but also of others who died in the exact manner as Brian - in that very same pool at the Oasis and in broad daylight. Do your own research to see how many similar stories are reported of money scams being run on unsuspecting tourists.
Brian’s family would like you to consider the dangers of vacationing in Mexico and think twice the next time your planning your vacation.