This article possibly contains original research. (January 2015) |
The body of Elisa Lam, (born April 30, 1991[1]) a 21-year-old Chinese Canadian student at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, was recovered from a water tank atop the Cecil Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, California, on February 19, 2013.[2] She had been reported missing at the beginning of the month. Maintenance workers at the hotel discovered the body when investigating guest complaints of low water pressure.
Elisa Lam | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 30, 1991[1] |
| Disappeared | January 31, 2013 Los Angeles |
| Died | c. February 1, 2013 (aged 21) Los Angeles |
| Cause of death | Accidental drowning |
| Body discovered | February 19, 2013 |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Occupation | Student |
| Known for | Mysterious circumstances of death |
Her disappearance had been widely reported; interest had increased five days prior to her body's discovery when the Los Angeles Police Department released video of the last time she was known to have been seen, on the day of her disappearance, by an elevator security camera. In the footage, Lam is seen exiting and re-entering the elevator, talking and gesturing in the hallway outside, and sometimes seeming to hide within the elevator, which itself appears to be malfunctioning. The video went viral on the Internet, with many viewers reporting that they found it unsettling. Explanations ranged from claims of paranormal involvement to the bipolar disorder Lam suffered from; one viewer has argued that the video has itself been tampered with.[3]
The circumstances of Lam's death, when she was found, also raised questions, especially in light of the Cecil's history in relation to other notable deaths and murders. Her body was naked[4] and most of her clothes were missing,[2] although men's clothing in larger sizes was also present in the water.[4] It took the Los Angeles County Coroner's office four months, after repeated delays, to release the autopsy report, which reports no evidence of physical trauma but shows possible ambivalence about its ultimate finding that the cause of death was accidental drowning. Guests at the Cecil, now rebranded as Stay on Main, sued the hotel over the incident, and Lam's parents filed a separate suit later that year.
Some of the early Internet interest noted unusual similarities between Lam's death and plot elements in the 2005 horror film Dark Water. There have been efforts to fictionalize the case since then as well. An episode of Castle was inspired by it, and a film that uses the case as a backstory, The Bringing, is currently in development.
Background
Lam, the daughter of immigrants from Hong Kong[5] who opened a restaurant in the Vancouver suburb of Burnaby,[6] was a student at the University of British Columbia;[2] although she was not registered[7] when she left in January 2013 she left her home for a trip to Southern California, which she called her "West Coast Tour" on her Tumblr blog. She said she planned to stop in San Diego, Los Angeles, Santa Cruz and San Francisco. While she also hoped to visit San Luis Obispo, she was not sure she could.[8]
See also
References
- ^ a b "Community Alert" (Press release). Los Angeles Police Department. February 6, 2013. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
- ^ a b c Nickels, Jesse (May 28, 2014). "Elisa Lam: The College Girl Whose Hotel Death is So Mysterious It Inspired a Horror Movie". College Times. Retrieved January 27, 2014.
- ^ van der Merwe, Marelise (June 17, 2014). "Elisa Lam: The mystery you should care about". Daily Maverick. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
- ^ a b "Autopsy Report 2013-01364". Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. June 18, 2013. p. 3. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
- ^ Young, Ian (March 5, 2014). "Disgust at plan to turn Elisa Lam's water tank death into horror movie". South China Morning Post. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
- ^ Moreau, Jennifer (February 27, 2013). "Condolences, notes, left for family at Burnaby restaurant". Burnaby Now. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
- ^ "Elisa Lam Case: Autopsy fails to find a cause of death for woman found in Los Angeles water tank". CBS News. February 22, 2013. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
- ^ Lam, Elisa (January 2013). "Nouvelle/Nouveau". Retrieved January 28, 2015.