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'He Proceeded To Strangle Me Unconscious': Delaware Woman Recounts Being Savagely Attacked At Dominican Republic Resort

WILMINGTON, Del. (CBS) -- A mother in Delaware is emotionally recounting a savage attack as she was nearly killed while on vacation in the Caribbean. Tammy Lawrence-Daley says she was attacked while at her resort in the Dominican Republic. She's speaking out now because she wants her story to be a warning for others.

Tammy Lawrence-Daley
(credit: CBS3)

A picture-perfect vacation quickly turned into a nightmare for Tammy and Christopher Lawrence-Daley.

"I feel so guilty, I blame myself. If I didn't go down there by myself it wouldn't have happened. I wouldn't have put my family through that," said Tammy Lawrence-Daley.

The couple were on a trip with their best friends at Majestic Elegance Resort in January in Punta Cana.

She says she went downstairs on the property to buy a snack, when she says a man wearing a resort maintenance hat and shirt strangled and beat her.

Lawrence-Daley suffered a broken nose, fractured eye socket, nerve damage throughout her head and her entire mouth had to be sewn back together.

Her disappearance lasted eight hours and the whole while she was going in and out of consciousness.

"He put something around my throat and he proceeded to strangle me unconscious. But before I went out, I'll never forget the last breath I took because it had some water in it and I just remember I'm never going to see my kids again, I'm never going to see my husband again, and they're never going to find me here," she said.

Lawrence-Daley said she was left in an underground crawl space with rocks and waste water. She screamed for help the next morning and staff went down and found her.

Her husband was in disbelief.

"When we first found her at the infirmary, it was unreal. I just lost control," Christopher Lawrence-Daley said.

Tammy Lawrence-Daley has a message for others.

"To be aware, to be safe and to be smart," she said.

One of the managers from the resort said she wasn't aware of the case, so CBS3 sent an email to all of the resort managers. We are waiting to hear back.

CBS3's Chantee Lans reports.

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