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Thread: Elisa Lam (21) was found dead in a hotel water tank after being missing for 19 days

  1. #226
    Senior Member hamdinger125's Avatar
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    Would they still be able to see signs of sexual trauma, since she was immersed in water for so long?

  2. #227
    Moderator bowieluva's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by hamdinger125 View Post
    Would they still be able to see signs of sexual trauma, since she was immersed in water for so long?
    Yeah, that stuff is different than when alcohol passes through your body. Lots of drugs don't linger more than a day or so.

    I mean, they can tell when a skeleton is sexually assaulted, it just takes a super long time to get results.

  3. #228
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    Autopsy result said there was no trace of drugs in her system.
    Where are her clothes? (she was found naked and her clothes were not found)
    Who closed the lid of the tank AFTER she got inside?
    Why wasn't the elevator door closing, and why did it close right after she left?
    Why, when the police with dogs searched the rooftop weeks prior to her body being found in the tank, didn?t they find any trace of her being there? No scent, nothing.

    She appeared relaxed when she entered the elevator. Perhaps she clicked on different buttons to explore the place? She pressed them in a playful manner imo. (based on her blog she seems to be an art buff and maybe she checked-in the hotel for the classic/artsy/appeal or maybe of the history itself - thinking nothing bad would happen to her)
    2nd time she pressed all the buttons she appeared to be panicking.

    Her hand gestures seemed to be of disbelief (hands on head), stress (bending fingers), and waving her arms seemed like she was trying to trigger motion detector in the elevator door (if the elevator has it) or checking out why it's not closing (if there's some sort of hindrance/blockage) - trying to make sense of it all. Gives up, and tries a different route.

    talking: maybe she was talking to herself- we do that from time to time. In her case maybe it went like this: "wtf? why is the elevator door not closing... what's happening?" and yes perhaps she went paranoid triggered by the circumstance she was in. Ik I would be esp being alone and all.

    None in the video made me think she's mentally ill --- to commit suicide. I think there's something more to this, too many questions unanswered.

  4. #229
    Administrator Olivia's Avatar
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    WHEN guests at a crumbling hotel on LA?s Skid Row noticed the tap water was black and foul-smelling, they complained to the manager.

    The last thing they expected was to learn the body of a young woman had been rotting in a water tank on the roof for two weeks.

    Police were baffled over how she had got through the alarmed door on to the top of the hotel. Strange CCTV footage showing the 21-year-old, a Canadian student, hiding in the lift and gesturing to an unseen person off-camera only added to the gruesome mystery.

    As more pieces of the puzzle emerged, her case captured the imagination of internet sleuths across the globe, with the tragedy inspiring high-profile TV crime dramas and horror movies. Elisa Lam has become the ultimate enigma for the digital age.

    Her parents, Hong Kong immigrants who ran a restaurant in Vancouver, were concerned for Elisa?s safety on what she called her ?West Coast tour?, but Elisa was full of confidence. On January 27 2013, she checked into budget accommodation the Cecil Hotel in LA, a faded art deco building in a dodgy part of the city, with 700 rooms and many permanent residents.

    She wrote on her Tumblr blog that the block was ?classy but then since it?s LA it went on crack,? adding that Baz Luhrman should film The Great Gatsby there.

    On January 31, she visited The Last Bookstore to buy gifts for her family. Manager Katie Orphan later told CNN Elisa was ?very outgoing, very lively, very friendly,? chatting about whether her purchases would be too heavy to carry around for the rest of her travels. That day, the girl vanished.

    Ms Orphan later compared the story to the opening of a Raymond Chandler noir novel ? and she isn?t the only one who thought it was like something out of a storybook.

    Elisa?s parents were worried by her silence straight away, because she had been calling them daily. They contacted the police and then flew to LA. On February 6, there was a press conference asking for anyone with information on the missing student to come forward.

    A week later, on February 13, LAPD released bizarre CCTV footage filmed on the night of Elisa?s disappearance. It showed her ducking in and out of the stationary hotel lift, frantically pressing buttons and apparently communicating with someone just out of shot.

    They couldn?t have predicted the response. Within 10 days, the footage had three million views. Viewers questioned why the timestamp had been hidden, the film apparently sped up and what happened in several jumps that suggested gaps in the video.

    Six days after it appeared, guests at the Cecil started complaining about the dark, musty, sour-tasting trickle of water coming out of the taps. A hotel maintenance man went up on the roof, and found a naked dead body in a water tank, with no signs of external trauma and clothes discarded nearby. Police confirmed it was Elisa. So how did she get through the alarmed door, up the three-metre ladder and into the water tank?

    That wasn?t the only question mark. At the time of Elisa?s death, the Centers for Disease Control had dispatched a team to stem the largest outbreak of tuberculosis in a decade on Skid Row. The name of the test used to identify potential victims was LAM-ELISA.

    From the moment the video appeared, threads on Reddit and Websleuths began debating Elisa?s disappearance. They wondered if she had been on drugs, why she wasn?t wearing her glasses, whether she was having a psychotic episode or if she was playing hide-and-seek with a hidden gunman.

    Bedroom investigators discovered from Elisa?s blog that she did suffer from bipolar disorder and depression, and was taking various medications for her conditions, but it didn?t satisfy their curiosity. While the LAM-ELISA test had been used around the world for years, it seemed too crazy to be coincidence.

    Some claimed to see a third foot in the video at the 2.27 mark, while others said it was merely a shadow. Bloggers and conspiracy websites discussed government mind control, the Masons and the secret service. Fingers were pointed at a registered sex offender living at the Cecil, and a death metal singer known as Morbid.

    Others delved into the Cecil Hotel?s chilling history. Since its construction in 1927, it had seen multiple suicides, murders, disappearances and serial killers ? could all this be coincidence?

    Ghost hunters think not. Web forums reveal blurry photos of people on the hotel?s window ledges and tour guides now give visitors a macabre overview of the area?s sinister past.

    The Cecil in the 1980s was filled with tormented people who had reached rock bottom. In 1985, ?Night Stalker? Richard Ramirez murdered at least 14 people while living there, returning each night to dump his blood-soaked clothes in the bins at the back and walking into the hotel naked or in his underwear. The story has drawn disturbing comparisons with the loss of Elisa?s clothes.

    Six years after Ramirez, Austrian journalist Jack Unterweger stayed at the Cecil while he worked on a story about LA crime, going on ride-alongs with LAPD officers which were revealed as scouting missions. Unterweger was a serial killer who strangled prostitutes, local guides informed Medium in Josh Dean?s in-depth exploration of the case.

    Two years on, the retelling of Elisa?s story has reached dizzying heights. Not only is her death the subject of relentless speculation across internet forums, she?s reached the mainstream too.

    It began with YouTubers reposting the CCTV video with breathless voiceovers about what might have really been going on. Less than a year after Elisa?s death, Hong Kong horror film Hungry GhostRitual featured a scene apparently inspired by the elevator video, while another Chinese director, Liu Hao, said he was working on a movie inspired by her life and death.

    Some claim an episode of Castle included a scene based on the tragedy, and in-production Sony movie The Bringing reportedly draws on her terrible story.

    What?s been pointed out as even weirder is the striking similarity between Elisa?s death and Dark Water, a Japanese horror flick remade by Hollywood eight years earlier, in 2005.

    A few months after her death, on June 21 2013, the Los Angeles County coroner listed cause of death as drowning, with bipolar disorder as a contributing condition. Her parents took her body home to Vancouver and never spoke to the press or a single internet detective. They filed a wrongful-death suit against the Cecil Hotel, which is still pending.

    For those closest to the case, it is closed, but it lives on in the thoughts of the intrigued and the haunted across the internet. Elisa?s troubled, expressive Tumblr is now littered with sad, heartfelt comments from people who see her as a kindred spirit.

    Her darkest moments are summed up in the blog?s tagline, a quote by Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk: ?You?re always haunted by the idea you?re wasting your life.?

    That?s not how her transfixed chroniclers would see it.

    http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel...edium=Facebook

  5. #230
    Senior Member blighted star's Avatar
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    I'm still going with misadventure - honestly, it is SO like Dark Water it's uncanny. I wouldn't be at all surprised if something about the hotel reminded her of the movie (the original movie, not the knock-off) & she went up to the roof to explore the water tank.


    Sadly, we're never going to know





    Also : the people who think the TB test "proves" there's an evil government/corporate conspiracy afoot are completely whacked







    Edit : this will always be one of my favourite J Horror movies, if you haven't seen it yet, you should -

    Edit 2 yrs on : replacing vid because the original one was deleted. This one's a bit different, jump to 0:50 to see the relevant parts re lift & water tower. If you watch the whole movie you'll see taps with black water & hair coming out of them as well

    Last edited by blighted star; 03-10-2017 at 06:43 PM.

  6. #231
    Senior Member wondery's Avatar
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    What Happened To Elisa Lam? A Documentary - on Kickstarter
    A cinematic exploration of the most mysterious case of the 21st century.

    From this page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...-a-documentary
    Overview

    After over 3 years of research, we're proud to present our new Kickstarter campaign: What Happened to Elisa Lam?

    This feature-length documentary will explore the mysterious case of a young woman who was found dead on the roof of an infamous hotel in 2013. The film will trace three competing narratives that seek to explain what happened: the police and those who believe Elisa died from a tragic accident resulting from bipolar disorder; web sleuths, friends, and conspiracists who believe Elisa was murdered; and paranormal experts who suggest Elisa was possessed by a dark force from the Cecil Hotel?s past. At the heart of the film remains the pulse of a creative but deeply troubled young woman whose online writings and struggle against depression continue to resonate with thousands of people across the world.

    The case defies conventional categorization. Is it a true crime mystery? A profile of mental illness? A paranormal investigation? Or all three? The Elisa Lam case transcends all labels and becomes a Rorschach test for the 21st-century mind - everyone who looks at it sees something different.
    Synopsis

    Distressed by relationships, difficulties with her college coursework and worsening psychological troubles, Elisa Lam embarked upon her fateful ?West Coast tour? in late January of 2013. On January 31st, she failed to make her daily phone call home; she was declared missing a few days later. The police released the last known sighting of her in the form of a surveillance video recorded inside the elevator of the Cecil Hotel (renamed Stay on Main). The chilling video, which shows Elisa acting peculiar and seemingly hiding from someone, went viral online. Early speculation was that either she was on drugs or being stalked by someone inside the hotel. When police finally released the toxicology report, it only deepened the mystery.

    With a grim, 9-decade history of untimely deaths, the Cecil Hotel legacy adds a macabre and provocative backdrop to the mystery. Over the years, dozens of people have committed suicide by jumping from the windows of the Cecil - so many, in fact, that residents used to call the hotel ?the Suicide Hotel?. At least two serial killers, Richard Ramirez (?the Nightstalker?) and Jack Unterweger, lived at the Cecil during their murder sprees. Multiple reports of paranormal activity also color the hotel?s history, with several residents claiming that a malevolent entity choked them in their sleep.

    Soon after Elisa?s disappearance, residents of the Cecil began complaining of low water pressure and dark water. A maintenance worker discovered the cause of the problems: a corpse. Nineteen days after she disappeared, Elisa Lam?s naked body was found in the water cistern on the roof of the Cecil Hotel. Suspecting foul play, LAPD detectives launched an investigation that many would come to view as insufficient. Their controversial conclusion is still debated today.

    Our examination of the Elisa Lam case will focus on three primary angles: the murder conspiracy; potential paranormal activity in the hotel; and an analysis of Elisa's psychiatric condition.

    Along the way, we will assess how the case became a part of the pop culture zeitgeist, serving as the inspiration for a season of American Horror Story.

    The case is full of almost mind-numbing synchronicities, too, ranging from eerie similarities to the 2005 horror movie, Dark Water, to the LAM-ELISA tuberculosis test.

    Style/Scenes

    Using police records, videos made by independent investigators, animations, eyewitness testimony, archival footage, recreated scenes, and Elisa Lam?s own journals, What Happened to Elisa Lam? will peel away the layers of the investigation from multiple points of view in order to reconstruct Elisa Lam?s tragic final night and assess the weeks and months before and after.
    This will include: abstract and dramatic recreations of Elisa?s emotional landscape, aided by voice over scenes drawn from her online writings; dramatic recreations of the night of her disappearance, including her experience in the hallway and elevator; TV news clips about the case; drone footage of downtown Los Angeles; interviews with multiple people intimately connected with the case; the surveillance footage; interviews with LAPD detectives and Cecil Hotel management; abstract animations of Rorschach test imagery; found footage and archival footage of the Cecil Hotel from previous decades; recreations of bipolar disorder (first person pov of what it?s like to experience hypomania and severe depression); paranormal researcher Clyde Lewis investigating the Cecil Hotel; a body language expert analyzing the surveillance footage.

    Main Subjects

    What Happened to Elisa Lam? will showcase characters from all spectrums of the case -- detectives, psychologists, friends of Elisa?s, journalists and filmmakers who became obsessed with the case, Reddit moderators and website owners who saw the case grow into a viral phenomenon, even short-stay and long-term Cecil residents who were accused of killing her.

    Over the last year, we have cultivated relationships with several people intimately connected with Elisa Lam and the case. The narrative will focus on these subjects while detouring to explore other aspects.

    Production Team

    Directors/Producers Jake Anderson and Jared Salas
    Will you donate?

  7. #232
    Senior Member blighted star's Avatar
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    Oh damn. Her parents will be beside themselves. They were probably hoping it would stay at this calmer level of attention.




    Edit : & thanks for the bump because it looks like I need to replace my Dark Water link.



    ... & a thanks to Elisa too I guess. After the initial Dark Water idea, She was the catalyst for me doing a year long spree of J & K Horror. So I have her to thank for seeing several new movies.
    Last edited by blighted star; 03-10-2017 at 06:33 PM.

  8. #233
    Senior Member Alison Worthington's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mork Moore View Post
    result said there was no trace of drugs in her system.
    Where are her clothes? (she was found naked and her clothes were not found)
    Who closed the lid of the tank AFTER she got inside?
    Why wasn't the elevator door closing, and why did it close right after she left?
    Why, when the police with dogs searched the rooftop weeks prior to her body being found in the tank, didn?t they find any trace of her being there? No scent, nothing.

    She appeared relaxed when she entered the elevator. Perhaps she clicked on different buttons to explore the place? She pressed them in a playful manner imo. (based on her blog she seems to be an art buff and maybe she checked-in the hotel for the classic/artsy/appeal or maybe of the history itself - thinking nothing bad would happen to her)
    2nd time she pressed all the buttons she appeared to be panicking.

    Her hand gestures seemed to be of disbelief (hands on head), stress (bending fingers), and waving her arms seemed like she was trying to trigger motion detector in the elevator door (if the elevator has it) or checking out why it's not closing (if there's some sort of hindrance/blockage) - trying to make sense of it all. Gives up, and tries a different route.

    talking: maybe she was talking to herself- we do that from time to time. In her case maybe it went like this: "wtf? why is the elevator door not closing... what's happening?" and yes perhaps she went paranoid triggered by the circumstance she was in. Ik I would be esp being alone and all.

    None in the video made me think she's mentally ill --- to commit suicide. I think there's something more to this, too many questions unanswered.
    I think this member's analysis of her actions regarding the elevator scenario is spot on, (re; entering calmly, wordering why the elevator doors won't close, feeling for a sensor and confusion turning into panic).

    At this point it's possible that an episode of bipolar was triggered, coupled with an overractive imagination with flashbacks to the Dark Waters movie, and she sougt refuge via the fire escape exit onto the roof and water tank.

    Due to negligence on the hotel's part, the lil to the watertank was probably left off or was unlocked.

    The police invesigation was definitely shoddy, the lack of information revealed insofar as fingerprints etc. Is probably because they were never taken in the first place.

    This leaves the door wide open to people trying to fill the gaps, including conspiraloons.

    It doesn't make sense for LE to cover up a murder, it's not as if the hotel was the Ritz with a reputation to protect, but it does make sense, with lawsuits pending, they'd try to cover up a botched investigation.

    Fascinating case either way. Curious as to how the lawsuits will pan out.

  9. #234
    Senior Member Alison Worthington's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Alison Worthington View Post
    I think this member's analysis of her actions regarding the elevator scenario, is spot on, (re; entering calmly, wondering why the elevator doors won't close, feeling for a sensor and confusion turning into panic).

    At this point it's possible that an episode of bipolar was triggered, coupled with an overractive imagination with flashbacks to the Dark Waters movie, and she sought refuge via the fire escape exit onto the roof and into the water tank.

    Due to negligence on the hotel's part, the lid to the watertank was probably left off or was unlocked.

    The police invesigation was definitely shoddy, the lack of information revealed insofar as fingerprints etc. Is probably because they were never taken in the first place.

    This leaves the door wide open to people trying to fill the gaps, including the paranormal and conspiraloons.

    It doesn't make sense for LE to cover up a murder, it's not as if the hotel was the Ritz with a reputation to protect, but it does make sense, with lawsuits pending, they'd try to cover up a botched investigation.

    Fascinating case either way. Curious as to how the lawsuits will pan out.
    ugh, sorry about the typos, cellphone commenting

  10. #235
    Scoopski Potatoes Nic B's Avatar
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    She was seeing the ghosts that haunt the place and they made her kill herself.

    The end.


    Quote Originally Posted by marakisses View Post
    yes i said i will leave it under you storage he said cuddle with me i said shut up it over??? what am i doing wrong??
    Quote Originally Posted by curiouscat View Post
    Happy Birthday! I hid a dead body in your backyard to celebrate. Good luck finding it under the cement. You can only use a stick to look for it.

  11. #236
    Senior Member animosity's Avatar
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    I agree with Nic.
    Quote Originally Posted by songbirdsong View Post
    "Say, you know who could handle this penis? MY MOTHER."

  12. #237
    Senior Member Turtlebcrazy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mork Moore View Post
    Autopsy result said there was no trace of drugs in her system.
    Where are her clothes? (she was found naked and her clothes were not found)
    Who closed the lid of the tank AFTER she got inside?
    Why wasn't the elevator door closing, and why did it close right after she left?
    Why, when the police with dogs searched the rooftop weeks prior to her body being found in the tank, didn?t they find any trace of her being there? No scent, nothing.

    She appeared relaxed when she entered the elevator. Perhaps she clicked on different buttons to explore the place? She pressed them in a playful manner imo. (based on her blog she seems to be an art buff and maybe she checked-in the hotel for the classic/artsy/appeal or maybe of the history itself - thinking nothing bad would happen to her)
    2nd time she pressed all the buttons she appeared to be panicking.

    Her hand gestures seemed to be of disbelief (hands on head), stress (bending fingers), and waving her arms seemed like she was trying to trigger motion detector in the elevator door (if the elevator has it) or checking out why it's not closing (if there's some sort of hindrance/blockage) - trying to make sense of it all. Gives up, and tries a different route.

    talking: maybe she was talking to herself- we do that from time to time. In her case maybe it went like this: "wtf? why is the elevator door not closing... what's happening?" and yes perhaps she went paranoid triggered by the circumstance she was in. Ik I would be esp being alone and all.

    None in the video made me think she's mentally ill --- to commit suicide. I think there's something more to this, too many questions unanswered.
    She doesn't seem relaxed at all at the beginning of the video. She looks confused and paranoid the entire time. Her actions are erratic, not 'playful'. She's very obviously worried that something or someone is there that she is nervous about and needs to hide from. I don't know any mentally sound individual that would act the way she does in this video out of normal confusion about why the elevator doors aren't closing. I definitely believe that mental illness played a part in her death.

  13. #238
    Junior Member Rebecca Autumn's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Turtlebcrazy View Post
    She doesn't seem relaxed at all at the beginning of the video. She looks confused and paranoid the entire time. Her actions are erratic, not 'playful'. She's very obviously worried that something or someone is there that she is nervous about and needs to hide from. I don't know any mentally sound individual that would act the way she does in this video out of normal confusion about why the elevator doors aren't closing. I definitely believe that mental illness played a part in her death.
    I think mental illness played a role in her death too. I wish the police would investigate it further. What I think happened is that she may have been experiencing delusions or hallucinations, and sex offender saw her, thought she was drunk, and murdered her and put her in the water tank. There were 3 different sex offenders staying at the hotel on the day she got killed, and probably more.

  14. #239
    Moderator bowieluva's Avatar
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    i think she was severely mentally ill and had an attach of paranoia. She thought someone was after her and hid in the water tank. I live in LA and have been to that hotel, it's not hard to get on the roof at all.

  15. #240
    Captain of Fuckery captainjillian's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bowieluva View Post
    i think she was severely mentally ill and had an attach of paranoia. She thought someone was after her and hid in the water tank. I live in LA and have been to that hotel, it's not hard to get on the roof at all.
    This, exactly.

  16. #241
    Senior Member Turtlebcrazy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bowieluva View Post
    i think she was severely mentally ill and had an attach of paranoia. She thought someone was after her and hid in the water tank. I live in LA and have been to that hotel, it's not hard to get on the roof at all.
    Agreed. The only question I have is what happened to her clothes, and how she got the lid closed. I wish I had a picture of the inside and outside of the tank. Maybe I need to go make a visit 😃

  17. #242
    Moderator bowieluva's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Turtlebcrazy View Post
    Agreed. The only question I have is what happened to her clothes, and how she got the lid closed. I wish I had a picture of the inside and outside of the tank. Maybe I need to go make a visit ��
    I think her clothes dissolved.

  18. #243
    Administrator Olivia's Avatar
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    This weeks true crime garage podcast is on Elisa

    https://www.truecrimegarage.com

  19. #244
    Senior Member Turtlebcrazy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bowieluva View Post
    I think her clothes dissolved.
    Wow! Can that happen in 19 days? That's crazy! Are there chemicals in the tank or something that cause that to happen?

  20. #245
    Im sure i read her clothes were found in the tank around her but not on her.

  21. #246
    Senior Member blighted star's Avatar
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    Yeah, I think they were either on the ground or in the tank or both? There might've been claims of some sandy substance on them or something too at some point? They can't say if anything was missing for sure though because no-one knows exactly what she was wearing when she got to the roof.

    This must've been posted already because it's from 2015, but I don't remember seeing this theory. It makes sense though so I'll post it to save us all searching the whole thread


    (Just realised it details her clothes too)


    http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/b...tory-1.3295239

    Of the thousands of theories circulating about the death of Elisa Lam, the one best worth considering comes from the case's lead investigator.

    Los Angeles police Det. Wallace Tennelle gave his thoughts in a deposition.

    The veteran detective was answering questions posed by a lawyer for the notorious Los Angeles hotel where the 21-year-old passed her final hours.

    Tennelle took the call in February 2013 about a Canadian national who was missing from the Cecil. And he had peered into the open hatch of the rooftop water tank and seen Lam's lifeless body.

    "My opinion is that she fell off her medication, and in her state, she happened to find her way onto the roof, got into the tank of water," Tennelle told the lawyer.

    "At the time, I think that water tank was maybe full. But as people used the tank, used water, unknown to her, the level was dropping to a point where she could no longer reach out and escape, and she died that way."


    The B.C. student's fate has inspired movie screenplays, an episode of Castle and ? most recently ? the fifth season of American Horror Story.

    Tourists flock to the hotel. A four-minute surveillance video of Lam gesticulating to an off-screen presence and frantically pressing buttons before sidling off the elevator is the subject of endless internet speculation.

    And by sheer coincidence, elements of the tragedy are linked to L.A. lore.

    The detective who reviewed the tape is a consultant on the TV version of Michael Connelly's gritty Harry Bosch thrillers. The serial killer known as the Night Stalker, Richard Ramirez, reportedly lodged at the Cecil. So did Jack Unterweger, an Austrian serial killer and minor celebrity.

    "Elisa Lam was young, pretty, on her own, in a country not her own," says L.A. crime historian Joan Renner.

    "I don't think people are deliberately callous, but when they sink their teeth into something they feel is mysterious or otherworldly, they lose the importance of the actual victim in it. It becomes a puzzle."​

    Mysterious visitors

    The facts are as follows: Lam made internet reservations to check into a shared room for three nights on Jan. 28, 2013.

    She was first assigned 506B, but the hotel's general manager said Lam's roommates complained about her "odd behaviour." She was then moved to a private room.

    According to the coroner's report, Lam had a history of bipolar disorder. Medication was found among her belongings, but tests were inconclusive as to the presence of the medication in her bloodstream.

    Her parents reported her missing when she failed to contact them on Jan. 31.

    Tennelle set up a command post at the hotel when police intensified the hunt days later. He testified that "every nook and cranny of that building where we thought was a room, locked or unlocked, it was to be opened. It was to be searched."

    The detective said Lam's appearance in the elevator video wasn't the only time she was seen on hotel surveillance tape.

    "We did see her come in with two gentlemen. She had - they had a box, gave it to her," he said. "She went up into her - to the elevator. We never saw them again on video."

    The search included the roof, but came up empty. Lam's belongings had been moved to the basement: a backpack, laptop and "things of value" that led police to believe she had planned on returning.

    And then, nothing.

    'It was my opinion ...'

    Maintenance man Santiago Lopez discovered the body on Feb. 19. A guest in room 320 complained about the lack of water pressure and he went to check out the four large rooftop tanks.


    Lam's body was found in a water tank on the top of the Cecil Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. (CBC)


    There are only four ways onto the roof: three fire escapes on the sides of the hotel and one alarmed door connected to an interior staircase.

    The hotel's engineer said he tested the alarm regularly. It was in working order when Lam went missing.

    "I think she went through the door," Tennelle told the Cecil's lawyer.

    Lam was naked when her body was found, but Tennelle said her clothes were in the tank. They're detailed in the coroner's report: a green Alexander Keith's India Pale Ale shirt, black shorts and a red American Apparel sweatshirt.

    The coroner concluded there was no evidence of foul play, and that "a full review of circumstances" didn't support the idea Lam intended to harm herself.

    With 35 years on the force, Tennelle has investigated rape, robbery and murder; he's no armchair internet sleuth.

    He also knows first-hand the effect of a senseless death on a family. His son Bryant was slain in an apparently random shooting in 2007.

    Tennelle concluded his deposition in a lawyer's office 15 minutes away from the roof where Lam died.

    "It was my opinion that she climbed in on her own," he said.

    "My partner and I tried to figure out how somebody could have put her in there, and it's difficult for someone to have been able to do that and not leave prints, not leave DNA or anything like that. So she climbed in on her own."
    Last edited by blighted star; 03-16-2017 at 01:39 AM.

  22. #247
    Administrator Olivia's Avatar
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    What does this even mean from the above article?

    "We did see her come in with two gentlemen. She had - they had a box, gave it to her," he said. "She went up into her - to the elevator. We never saw them again on video."

  23. #248
    Senior Member blighted star's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Olivia View Post
    What does this even mean from the above article?

    "We did see her come in with two gentlemen. She had - they had a box, gave it to her," he said. "She went up into her - to the elevator. We never saw them again on video."
    Lol yeah, I decided I'd just ignore that part because for sure it's going to set off a new round of whodunnit

    Depends on the box I guess though - maybe she ordered a food delivery & got the lift down to the lobby to collect it?


    Also, just realised, I always assumed it was too deep & she eventually drowned. If the detective is right about the water levels though, maybe she only drowned after finally collapsing due to lack of food, exposure & exhaustion? - which would also explain why her body was still recognisable as "an Asian female" when the employee opened the tank 19 days after she went missing

    & that is probably more horrible than anything I'd considered until now because I always assumed it was over pretty soon after she got in that tank. Maybe she was stuck in there alive for days

    I could have it completely wrong as usual though. Did they ever release an official date of death?

  24. #249
    Senior Member blighted star's Avatar
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    Reading through the autopsy report, not sure if it was ever linked. I just skimmed the whole thread & don't think I saw it

    Haven't got a date yet but it describes "moderate" decomp, so depending on temps etc she could've died very soon after entering the water.

    I don't know local temps or how slow/fast would be normal in these circs though. Someone with a working knowledge will have to fill us in


    https://www.pdf-archive.com/2014/02/...review/page/1/

  25. #250
    Senior Member animosity's Avatar
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    January in LA anywhere from 35 - 90 degrees f. my guess is somewhere around 55-65.

    Oh, I found this: https://www.wunderground.com/history...ic=&reqdb.wmo=

    Range for that year/month = max: 80, min: 38
    Last edited by animosity; 03-16-2017 at 05:00 AM.
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    "Say, you know who could handle this penis? MY MOTHER."

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