I keep checking Google News for any break in the ELISA LAM case.

she was the 21-year-old canadian-chinese tourist who was found naked and dead in a water cistern atop the cecil hotel in downtown los angeles. the autopsy was inconclusive and they're still waiting for the toxicology report to come back to see if there were any drugs in her system. the lapd isn't talking and either there's a media blackout or they've just gone on to the next hot story. meanwhile, theories abound on the internet about how she got into that cistern.

Yeah that whole thing is batshit. So what are the chief theories?

whoa i had not heard about this.

the TB connection is prime internet crazy fun time

i hadn't heard of this either but the surveillance video is weird

I remember this popping up in the news but then vanishing quickly; I hadn't realized it was still under investigation

That's the case where the hotel patrons were drinking the corpse water for a few days, right? It is a disturbing case.

okay I started watching that video and then started getting massive Ring vibes, had to stop

the paranormal types are getting a lot of mileage out of the fact that Richard Ramirez and Jack Unterweger both lived at that hotel during their murder sprees

So what are the chief theories?

the most prominent theory is that she was murdered by one of the security staff at the hotel -- someone who knew where all the cameras were (and weren't). some people are saying that the surveillance video of the elevator was doctored since there were inconsistencies with the time stamp -- and obviously the security guy would be the first one to have access to that tape.

other people think she may have had a psychotic break (she noted on her blog that she was bipolar) and climbed into the tank herself.

okay I started watching that video and then started getting massive Ring vibes, had to stop

most of the comparisons have been to dark water.

ah, haven't seen that one

That's the case where the hotel patrons were drinking the corpse water for a few days, right? It is a disturbing case.

― rallying against young people who wear hats (Nicole), Wednesday, April 3, 2013 2:44 PM (4 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

some people refused to leave after they were informed and continued bathing in and drinking the water

she's acting more eccentric than scared in the video

IBTimes says she 'maybe' took xtc (but doesn't really back up that claim): http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/444322/20130310/canadian-woman-elisa-lam-death-cecil-hotel.htm

I mean, it's a drug expert concluding that on the basis of the footage

is this an ARG?

xp - it's really hard to conclude anything based on a couple minutes of footage with no sound. we don't even know if there was anyone out of frame that she was talking to.

ok so the deeply weird thing here is that apparently the only way to the roof involved at least one locked door and an alarm system? which would make the wigged out on drugs theory abt her throwing herself in the cistern pretty difficult

you could also get up to the roof by the fire escapes on the 15th floor.

xp - it's really hard to conclude anything based on a couple minutes of footage with no sound. we don't even know if there was anyone out of frame that she was talking to.

― my cat is an eliane radigue (get bent), woensdag 3 april 2013 23:58 (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

My thoughts exactly.

ah ok, hadnt heard abt the fire escapes. despite the 15 minutes of extensive research i have put into this!

anybody who thinks they can pinpoint ecstasy vs a variety of other hallucinogenics thx to that video is a pretty crap drug expert

oooh i hadn't heard about this at all. will keep an eye on this one
i'm not really one for prognostication, so i'll just wait to see what other evidence...floats to the top (sorry)

actually that was the wrong choice of word but you know what i meant
interesting case

ha ok its a "club-drug expert" who also says that people who take PCP would be more likely to go to the cistern because PCP is a drug that draws people to water gtfo

oh, you're a club-drug expert? really? then where are your glowsticks, my friend?

http://marksoderstrom.com/images/PARALLAX/Divining.jpg

pictured: a person on PCP

ppl on pcp:

http://static.ddmcdn.com/gif/ironman-swim.jpg

PCPPL

haha

luckiest people in the world iirc

omni mandarin, esp vancouver edition, and other chinese lang news outlets in vancouver (and i've seen it getting some attention in mainland media) have been heavy with elisa lam news. the earliest reports contradicted what's out there now and said she was withdrawn and depressed. and chinese microblogs + chinese students overseas bbs have lots of ridiculous theories.

the whole thing is sad.

i don't think she was on ecstasy. i'm a drug expert btw.

yeah the overwhelming response of "oh shes obviously on drug X" just reminds me that even now v v few people have experienced someone having a legit psychological break in their lives. like yeah maybe she is on drugs, but those assumptions are sorta damaging wrt to the mentally ill. hence people opining about how so many homeless people are obv always hopped up on chemicals

anything new ever happen with this?

nothing in the news. shouldn't the toxicology report have come back by now?

so basicallly... they have nothing.

http://laist.com/2013/06/20/elisa_lam_death_at_cecil_hotel_rule.php

i don't understand. why is the coroner ruling it an accidental drowning if the tox report STILL hasn't come in? i'm not a conspiracy nut but this whole story doesn't sit right with me.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2013/06/20/body-in-water-tank-ruled-accidental-drowning/2443061/

They can't admit to something being wrong, that would be unfair. (Uh.)

our fine nation's highly qualified coroners/forensic pathologists give me the utmost confidence:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/post-mortem/real-csi/

FRONTLINE!

the one about coroners and wrongful death investigations is terrifying
i think it's called post-mortem?

oh right, there it is

Vigilant Citizen weighs in:
http://vigilantcitizen.com/vigilantreport/mysterious-case-elisa-lam/

This might force some more details to light, from last month:

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/09/20/elisa-lam-dead-parents-lawsuit_n_3965094.html

Yeah great

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-elisa-lam-death-movie-20140304,0,324257.story#axzz2v1lp6UcC

American Horror Story: The Cecil Hotel