Elisa Lam: Found Dead in a Rooftop Water Tank
On the morning of February 19, 2013, within the heart of downtown Los Angeles at the Cecil Hotel, a hotel worker named Santiago Lopez was inspecting the rooftop water tanks. Prompted by guest complaints about low water pressure, discolored water, and an unusual taste. Upon opening the lid of one of the four 1,000-gallon water tanks stationed on the roof, Santiago found a partially decaying woman floating face up in the water, her clothing floating beside her. This discovery would end the 19-day search for Elisa Lam, but would only leave this story shrouded in more mystery.
Background
Elisa came to Los Angeles to explore and enjoy the city on her own. She used Amtrak and buses to travel around, making stops like the San Diego Zoo. Along her journey, she shared her experiences and thoughts on her blog, which she started in mid-2010, named Ether Fields on Blogspot. On her blog, she posted images of fashionable models and shared personal stories, including her ongoing battle with mental health challenges. In a blog post from January 2012, she candidly expressed her frustration with a “relapse” during that school term, which forced her to drop several classes, leaving her with a profound sense of aimlessness. Her post bore the title “You’re always haunted by the idea you’re wasting your life,” borrowed from a quote by novelist Chuck Palahniuk, which she used as an epigraph for her blog. Elisa worried about how her academic transcript, marked with numerous withdrawals, might affect her ability to pursue further studies and attend graduate school. A little over two years into her blogging journey, she announced that she was moving on from her Blogspot blog to a new one on Tumblr called “Nouvelle-Nouveau.” This fresh blog primarily featured fashion photographs, quotes, and a few of her own written posts, all with the same Palahniuk quotation as its epigraph.
Elisa’s Mental Health
Elisa had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and depression. She had been prescribed several medications for her mental health issues, including Wellbutrin, lamotrigine, quetiapine, Dexedrine Spansule, and venlafaxine. According to her family, who reportedly kept her mental illness private, Elisa had no history of suicidal ideations or attempts, although one report claimed she had previously gone missing for a brief period. Elisa also had a history of not consistently taking her prescribed bipolar medications, which, on several occasions, led to hallucinations that drove her to seek refuge under her bed. She was hospitalized at least once for one of these episodes.
The Cecil Hotel
The place Lam was staying, the Cecil Hotel, was built in the 1920s by hoteliers William Banks Hanner and Charles L. Dix. It was intended to serve as a middle-class hotel during a period of significant urban development in Los Angeles. This establishment aimed to cater to both business travelers and tourists. However, despite its initial purpose, the Cecil Hotel gained notoriety over the years for being associated with numerous incidents of violence, suicides, and unsettling occurrences. And its location near Skid Row, an area with a high concentration of homelessness and poverty, further added to its troubled image. It was also the residence of serial killer Richard Ramirez, known as “the Night Stalker,” in the 1930s and saw a series of suicides in the 1960s. In the 1980s, a woman was found raped and murdered in her room. And now, the death of Elisa Lam can be added to the list to the list of tragedies.
The Disappearance
The date was January 31, 2013, Elisa Lam’s parents in British Columbia had not received word from their daughter. Up until that day, she had been in daily contact with them, providing reassurance as she traveled. This day was different; it was the day Elisa was scheduled to check out of the Cecil Hotel and continue her journey to Santa Cruz. But her parents did not receive the usual call or message from her. Worried and unable to reach her, they took immediate action. They contacted the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) to report her as missing, and they themselves flew to Los Angeles to aid in the search for their daughter.
Police Investigation
In response to the report of Elisa Lam’s disappearance, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) initiated a thorough search and investigation. Their efforts were aimed at locating the missing young woman and understanding the circumstances surrounding her disappearance.
The LAPD conducted an extensive search of the Cecil Hotel, where Elisa had last been seen. This search included a meticulous examination of her hotel room. While the available information does not provide specific details about what, if anything, they found in her room during this initial search.
The police also utilized search dogs to sweep through the building, including the rooftop, in an effort to locate any trace of Elisa. However, despite these efforts, the search dogs did not detect her scent.
The police were constrained by legal limitations at this stage of the investigation. “But we didn’t search every room,” Sgt. Rudy Lopez said later, “we could only do that if we had probable cause” This limitation hindered their ability to comprehensively search the premises.
As the days passed with no sign of Elisa, the LAPD recognized the need for additional assistance. On February 6, a week after her last known sighting, they decided to intensify their efforts. To draw more attention to her disappearance and reach a wider audience, they began posting flyers featuring Elisa’s image in the neighborhood and online. This action brought the case to the public’s attention through the media, generating interest and concern for her well-being.
Elevator Footage
On February 13, almost 2 weeks after Elisa Lam’s disappearance, the LAPD released elevator surveillance footage from the Cecil Hotel, recorded on January 31. This video garnered significant attention, amassing 3 million views and 40,000 comments on Youku, a Chinese video-sharing site, within its first 10 days of release.
In the roughly two-and-a-half minutes of footage, Elisa was alone and displayed unusual behavior. She pressed all elevator buttons, looked anxiously into the hallway, and briefly stepped out of the elevator, leaving the doors open. After her return, when the doors failed to close, she eventually left.
This video sparked global intrigue. Leading to multiple theories, some believed she was trying to escape from a pursuer, while others considered the influence of substances, though no drugs were found in her system. Given Elisa’s bipolar disorder, some theorized she might have experienced a psychotic episode.
Questions arose about the video’s authenticity due to alterations, including an obscured timestamp, possibly slowed-down segments, and potential missing footage. This fueled speculation about protecting someone’s identity.
Discovery of the Body
On February 19, 2013, as the search for Elisa Lam continued, guests at the Cecil Hotel began complaining about issues with the water supply. Among these complaints were reports of low water pressure, water with an unusual taste, and even discoloration.
Two days later, on February 21, Santiago Lopez, a maintenance worker at the Cecil Hotel, was tasked with inspecting the rooftop water tanks. These 1,000-gallon reservoirs supplied water to guest rooms, the kitchen, and a coffee shop within the hotel. Upon opening one of the tanks, he made a grim discovery. Elisa Lam’s lifeless body was found floating face-up in the water. Her clothing, similar to what she had worn in the elevator surveillance video, was found floating nearby, coated with a sand-like substance. Her wristwatch and room key were also located in the tank.
Elisa’s death was initially ruled as accidental drowning, with her bipolar disorder noted as a contributing factor. However, a more detailed coroner’s report released in June revealed further disturbing details about the condition in which her body was discovered.
Elisa’s remains had undergone significant decomposition and bloating during her time in the water tank. Her body displayed a greenish hue, with visible marbling on her abdomen and skin separation. Despite her body’s distressing state, there were no signs of physical trauma, sexual assault, or suicide.
Toxicology tests revealed traces of prescription medication consistent with what she had in her possession, along with nonprescription drugs like Sinutab and ibuprofen. While a minimal amount of alcohol was detected, no traces of recreational drugs were found. Investigators and experts, however, noted that the concentration of her prescription drugs suggested she may have been undermedicating or had recently discontinued her prescribed medications, suggesting she may have been affected by her bipolar disorder.
What Happened?
The case of Elisa Lam’s tragic death at the Cecil Hotel is shrouded in puzzling circumstances. The doors and staircases leading to the hotel’s roof were secured, with only staff having the necessary codes and keys. Any attempt to tamper with these doors would have triggered alarms. However, it was speculated that Elisa might have used the hotel’s fire escape, which could have bypassed these security measures. Her scent trail was lost near a window connected to the fire escape. Furthermore, a video posted online after her death revealed that the hotel’s roof was easily accessible via the fire escape, and two of the water tank lids were open.
The question of how Elisa entered the water tank alone also perplexed investigators. All four tanks were 4-by-8-foot cylinders propped up on concrete blocks, lacking fixed access points. Hotel workers needed a ladder to inspect the water inside. Additionally, these tanks were equipped with heavy lids that would have been challenging to close from within. The hotel maintenance worker who discovered her body noted that the lid was open when he found her, removing the possibility of self-closure.
It was a further complication that police dogs, deployed in the initial search for Elisa, failed to pick up any scent or trace of her, even on the hotel’s rooftop, shortly after her disappearance was noted.
Various theories emerged, with some suggesting that the elevator surveillance footage showed signs of Elisa being under the influence of illicit drugs, despite no such substances being detected in her toxicology screen. Some theorized that these drugs might have broken down during the period her body decomposed in the tank, or she might have consumed rare drug combinations not detectable by a standard screen. Others pointed to the very low level of her prescription drugs in her system and the remaining pills in her prescription bottle, suggesting she might have undermedicated or recently stopped taking her bipolar disorder medication, potentially leading to a psychotic episode.
Questions also swirled around the completeness of the autopsy report, as it did not disclose the results of the rape kit and fingernail kit, leaving some uncertainties. There was also mention of subcutaneous pooling of blood in Elisa’s anal area, which raised concerns about potential sexual abuse. However, this could also have been a result of bloating during the body’s decomposition. The coroner’s pathologists themselves had mixed feelings about concluding that Elisa’s death was accidental.
Following her death, her blog continued to update, presumably through Tumblr’s Queue option, allowing posts to publish automatically. Her phone was not found either with her body or in her hotel room. The source of these posthumous updates remains unclear, whether it was due to the theft of her phone, the work of a hacker, or Tumblr’s automated posting system. The connection between these updates and her death remains unknown.
To conclude, the most likely explanation for her death is suicide due to her bipolar disorder and her depression. But this case remains mysterious because of the possibility that foul play was involved and Elisa Lam didn’t climb into the water tank but… was thrown in.
Sources:
