A Chicago woman lost her life after undergoing cosmetic surgery in the Dominican Republic earlier this month. This led her family to push for a full investigation into how the death unfolded.
Sucretta Tolliver is remembered by her loved ones as a devoted mother, a former nurse, and a successful businesswoman. She ran a popular boutique in the Brighton Park neighborhood.
“Life is precious, and you don’t know it until it’s been stolen from you, and I feel, like his daughter and speaking for my family, we were robbed,” said Tolliver’s daughter, Mariah Price.
Price said her mother traveled from Chicago to the Dominican Republic for a cosmetic procedure that was performed on December 12. She lost her life two days later in a recovery home.
“I called her on the phone that night, the night before she passed away. She sounded like she was in a lot of pain,” Price commented. “She was like she ‘she wouldn’t wish this on anyone. She hurts a lot.’”
Tolliver’s daughter expressed that she felt completely helpless, thousands of miles from her mother and unable to care for her.
Now the family, including Price’s uncle, William Tolliver, is fighting for more answers about what went wrong.
“His official death certificate says internal bleeding,” he said. “They did their report in the Dominican Republic, but when I get back home, we’ll do our own reports and then we’ll figure it out.”
The Tolliver family is calling on authorities, including the FBI and the State Department, to investigate his death and the doctor who performed the procedure.
“I will stand for justice for my sister,” said William Tolliver.
Family members claimed they retained a lawyer and are now working with the US Embassy in the Dominican Republic to help repatriate the beloved mother’s body home.
“The only way I feel like I can have some kind of fight against what happened to her is for it not to happen to anyone else,” said William Tolliver.
