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The women — Wafae El Arar, Imane Mallah, and Kaoutar Naqqad — are all from Revere, in their mid-20s, and of Moroccan descent. They had flown to what was supposed to be a vacation paradise to celebrate Wafae’s 26th birthday but were found dead on Saturday, Feb. 22, according to Boston 25.
As news spread of their deaths, Revere, the Moroccan community, and strangers from around the globe offered words of sympathy, care packages for the families, and money to pay for the girls' funerals.
A GoFundMe for Wafae El Arar has raised more than $28,000. Click here for more information.
A fundraiser for Kaoutar Naqqad has raised more than $26,000. Click here for more information.
A GoFundMe for Imane Mallah has topped $35,000. Click here for more information. (All figures are as of Wednesday afternoon)
Housekeepers at the Royal Kahal Beach Resort, located in San Pedro Town, found the trio dead when they didn't answer the door.
Belize, marked in red, is located on the north-eastern coast of Central America.
Investigators found alcohol and gummies in their hotel room, and each woman was found next to vomit. Belizean authorities claim they died of an overdose, but Revere officials question those reports and are pressing for an independent investigation, Boston 25 reported.
Friends of the women, who were described as inseparable, also said they didn't behave in a way that Belizean officials have accused them of behaving.
“It’s very frustrating because when you hear ‘possible OD,’ automatically you attribute characteristics to that person, but that couldn’t be further from the truth,” Hajar El Khalfaoui, who spoke at Tuesday's vigil, told WCVB.
“When I graduated, Imane didn’t want me to go to a party. She said she didn’t want to go because there would be drinking there. That was who she was. So when they said that it was an OD, I can’t believe that was true,” she told the station.
Others echoed the sentiment.
"They're respectful. They wouldn't do the things that people are saying they would," Destiny Borges-Kelley said at the ceremony. "They were all moving forward in life. They had plans."
The U.S. State Department released a statement earlier this week saying officials are "closely monitoring" the situation and are working with Central American authorities on the investigation.
Revere Mayor Patrick M. Keefe Jr. said in a statement he's heard "widespread concern from the families and community members about the lack of transparency in this investigation and the media narrative painted by Belizean authorities."
He said he has spoken with Sen. Ed Markey and House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark to get answers for the families.
Autopsies on the women are scheduled for this week, WCVB reported.
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