ADP mourns death of student Esmeralda Richiez

The Dominican Association of Teachers (ADP) expressed regret on Wednesday for the death of student Esmeralda Richiez Martinez.  Her parents blame Professor John Kelly Martinez for allegedly giving her abortion pills. The ADP Board of Directors expressed their regret in a statement, stating that the man teaches at the Higuey Agricultural Institute (Politécnico de la Cruz) in Otra Banda, La Altagracia province. The union said it is waiting for the Public Ministry to conduct an investigation and that if the rumors about the tragedy are true, “the full weight of the law must fall on the actors of such an unfortunate event.”

They concluded their message by expressing their hope that “cases of this nature do not reoccur in the educational community and in society in general.” The teen was discovered dead in her home’s bathroom early Monday morning. She had gone out the day before with the aforementioned 35-year-old math teacher, an older cousin of his, and three teenage friends, and she had arrived at her house after 12:00 a.m.

According to the Public Ministry, the girl  arrived pale and bleeding, “so the teacher stayed for a few minutes offering help and was with her in her room.” Her ashes were veiled and buried in the El Bonao community cemetery on Wednesday. The teacher was arrested by the Public Ministry yesterday.