US and UK media picking up on the story of a New Yorker, apparently murdered while visiting Turks and Caicos

#Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands – October 23, 2018 – It is all over international media now… the story of a murder investigation following the discovery of the body of a tourist woman last week in Providenciales. 

Turks and Caicos residents late yesterday, for the first time were informed that TCI Police were viewing the death discovery as a homicide.  The report from the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police came just hours ahead of international stories about the alleged murder of a 61-year old Marie Kuhnla of Long Island, New York.  Kuhnla, an attorney by profession, was staying at Club Med Turkoise and the resort is reported saying, “The entire Club Med family is saddened by the death of this guest and sends it deepest condolences to the guest’s friends and family.”  

One article said the U.S. State Department is aware of the investigation but offered no further details, including how the woman is believed to have been killed.  

Because the Turks and Caicos is a low crime jurisdiction which welcomes in over a million tourists each year, reports like this one are heartbreaking to residents who grieve the loss and are outraged by any harm which comes to visitors.

Also heartbroken by the tragedy, Rick Kuhnla Jr, the victim’s son who said, “I would like to take a moment to focus on her life.  She was a loving, caring, compassionate woman who I was lucky to have for a mom.  If she saw someone who needed help, she would help them.  She may be gone, but the impact she had on the world and inspiration she provided most certainly is not.”  

It was a week ago today that Marie Kuhnla was found in bushes in Leeward, an eastern community of Providenciales.

There are at least 12 online reports, including TV news stories and a piece on Good Morning America about the murder investigation.

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF THE ROYAL TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS POLICE