CA/Canada - Elisa Lam - 21 years old - Los Angeles/Vancouver - 31-Jan-2013 - #1

[Indy Anna]

In the news footage of the body recovery you can see a rooftop door with a set of stairs leading down, but LE (and whoever else is with them) are standing at the threshold of another set of doors, wide opening, that looks like it could be a storage area or maintenance room. Or are there TWO doors to the roof?

I would assume that a ladder would be kept up there. Otherwise they'd have to haul a ladder up the stairs to the roof every time they needed to access something... such as the water tanks.

Yes, I would think it would be kept close by, in a storage area, but doubt that it would be left setting out in the open. JMO

 

[margarita25]

 

[moslym3]

I think it's unlikely that a worker would put the body in a water tank. A worker would want to put the body where it wouldn't be found - at least long enough to move it to another location later. A water tank feeding dozens of apartments would not be a top choice to anyone familiar with the building. Also, it's so exposed up there, with all the high-rises with a perfect view.

I think it's more likely that she went up to the roof willingly, possibly with someone else to take in the sunset, the view, take photos, smoke a cig or a doob. Maybe that's where things went wrong after dark and she was placed in the water tank as a last resort, by someone who thought carrying her back down or out of the building was impossible.

I do think the tank option is weird for someone to hide a body. Unless someone unfamiliar with the water tanks thought that placing a body in water (maybe they thought it got hot?) would destroy DNA evidence or signs of sexual assault etc.

So in my mind, her being found in the water tank points to someone not employed by the building -- or at least not familiar with building maintenance.

It's also someone who is young enough, fun enough, not creepy -- someone who she'd want to hang with up on the roof. A new friend she met or a guy she was flirting with.

 

[Indy Anna]

The elevator MOST LIKELY didn't move becauses Elisa in the flurry of pushing buttons pressed the dayum HOLD DOOR button which does in fact HOLD THE DOOR for a set amount of time...with a single press of the button - you don't have to hold the button down to keep the door open.

It's back in the thread...A PIC of the control panel in the actual elevator and compared to where we see her pushing buttons she runs right down the row where HOLD DOOR is the bottom button in the row...



Elevator - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I think she was frantic the way she punched all of those buttons and then hid in the corner. It would be heart-wrenching to think she was trying to escape someone but then led to her own demise when she accidentally hit the hold door button. But she hit other buttons first and the elevator just didn't move. So, I don't think her punching the door hold button is relevant, IMO.

 

[Joe Friday]

snipped...The naked body of missing Canadian tourist, Elisa Lam, 21, was found inside a water tank atop a downtown Los Angeles hotel Tuesday.

http://www.examiner.com/article/naked-body-of-missing-canadian-tourist-found-hotel-water-tank-video

but hey maybe they read the tweet...

In that article it is said "KNX 1070" reported that she was nude. Which is a radio station.

I would rather see a direct quote from a police spokesperson saying she was found nude before I start thinking that she was. If so it changes things somewhat as far as if this was an accident. Of course if she is nude you would expect that she was also sexually assaulted. Unless she just took off her cloths before jumping in the tank. Which in that case I would think the clothing should still be there near the tanks.

Regardless if she was found without any clothing and this is a case of foul play the amount of time that has passed I would suspect that her clothing went out in a load of trash weeks ago.

Does this hotel only have one video camera in the elevator? If they have footage of Elisa in the elevator there must be other footage of possibly a suspicious persons rooming the hotel at the same time as well. I would think that all exits would be covered possibly even the entrance to the roof and it should have been determined that Elisa never left the building. Anyone see any cameras in all those photos posted by prior guests or on the hotels website?


JMO

 

[Sillybilly]

The glitch imo, concerning any employee being responsible, is that anyone with familiarity with water tank operations would know that a body would probably cause flooding as it sank to the bottom.
Thinking someone who regularly dealt with the tanks would attach a rope to the body so it would not sink.
Wondering if all the water tanks there ( and perhaps elsewhere too) will be checked for other bodies...

I don't know that thugs and common criminals are all that swift, or would think that far ahead wrt a body floating, sinking, or having any consequence. The timeline related to the loud noise, flooding, etc will be interesting to know because it could be that her body was kept in a room when the perp couldn't figure out how to get her out of the hotel in any other fashion without raising suspicions. I hope they take cadaver dogs through all the rooms.

Come to think of it, why would a body in those rooftop tanks cause flooding? I could see a body or articles of clothing causing a blockage at the outlet and a diminished water supply, but flooding? Hmm

wrt the other tanks, it is interesting that the tank with all the white paint(?) appears to have been cut before. Probably just for some type of maintenance procedure.

 

[tarabull]

In that article it is said "KNX 1070" reported that she was nude. Which is a radio station.

I would rather see a direct quote from a police spokesperson saying she was found nude before I start thinking that she was. If so it changes things somewhat as far as if this was an accident. Of course if she is nude you would expect that she was also sexually assaulted. Unless she just took off her cloths before jumping in the tank. Which in that case I would think the clothing should still be there near the tanks.

Regardless if she was found without any clothing and this is a case of foul play the amount of time that has passed I would suspect that her clothing went out in a load of trash weeks ago.

Does this hotel only have one video camera in the elevator? If they have footage of Elisa in the elevator there must be other footage of possibly a suspicious persons rooming the hotel at the same time as well. I would think that all exits would be covered possibly even the entrance to the roof and it should have been determined that Elisa never left the building. Anyone see any cameras in all those photos posted by prior guests or on the hotels website?


JMO

Above bbm

YES we ALL would rather...!!! (but fwiw, does that radio station have eyes in the sky...???)

As for camera's...there are two visible in two different pics - one under the front awning at the main entrance...one is up thread - the other is out there - i will try to locate...

eta one camera under awning - the video here also shows one camera in elevator: [ame="http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showpost.php?p=8872974&postcount=169"]Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community - View Single Post - Found Deceased CA/Canada - Elisa Lam - 21 years old - Los Angeles/Vancouver - 31-Jan-2013[/ame]

also eta: there are two - one under the awning - same as above ??? and another above the front desk visble in the first 1:30 seconds of this video http://youtu.be/ggFBiISNOZA

 

[margarita25]

Without seeing an internal schematic (still searching), and me being completely uneducated on the subject of water tanks (my project for today), its hard to determine how she got there at this point. How big are the pipes? Where are the maintenance / different stations, if any, located? (Pump, etc...) Could her body have ultimately traveled to the location internally?

 

[tarabull]

Strange isnt it, reminds me of Annie Le found in that wall.
Didnt they say the roof was locked and had an alarm?

YES a lock requiring a key that only hotel staff would have & an alarm that alerts HOTEL SECURITY...

 

[margarita25]

Notice her hands are up, like behind her head, like when a cop says "put your hands on your head during the part when appears to stabilize herself walking back in, as well as when she is outside to the left of the elevator. You can see the corner of her arm / shirt showing her arms are raised.

 

[tarabull]

Notice her hands are up, like behind her head, like when a cop says "put your hands on your head during the part when appears to stabilize herself walking back in, as well as when she is outside to the left of the elevator. You can see the corner of her arm / shirt showing her arms are raised.

I wondered if she might be fussing with her hair in the mirror across from the elevator...but the question remains, could she even see herself in the mirror across from the elevator clear enough to be fussing over her hair...???...

 

[tarabull]

I think it's unlikely that a worker would put the body in a water tank. A worker would want to put the body where it wouldn't be found - at least long enough to move it to another location later. A water tank feeding dozens of apartments would not be a top choice to anyone familiar with the building. Also, it's so exposed up there, with all the high-rises with a perfect view.

I think it's more likely that she went up to the roof willingly, possibly with someone else to take in the sunset, the view, take photos, smoke a cig or a doob. Maybe that's where things went wrong after dark and she was placed in the water tank as a last resort, by someone who thought carrying her back down or out of the building was impossible.

I do think the tank option is weird for someone to hide a body. Unless someone unfamiliar with the water tanks thought that placing a body in water (maybe they thought it got hot?) would destroy DNA evidence or signs of sexual assault etc.

So in my mind, her being found in the water tank points to someone not employed by the building -- or at least not familiar with building maintenance.

It's also someone who is young enough, fun enough, not creepy -- someone who she'd want to hang with up on the roof. A new friend she met or a guy she was flirting with.

There's a link to a similar case posted up thread by dotr - a woman was found in the water tanks on the roof of a hotel/apartment - a building maintenance worker was arrested...

fwiw...is all.

 

[dotr]

I don't know that thugs and common criminals are all that swift, or would think that far ahead wrt a body floating, sinking, or having any consequence. The timeline related to the loud noise, flooding, etc will be interesting to know because it could be that her body was kept in a room when the perp couldn't figure out how to get her out of the hotel in any other fashion without raising suspicions. I hope they take cadaver dogs through all the rooms.

Come to think of it, why would a body in those rooftop tanks cause flooding? I could see a body or articles of clothing causing a blockage at the outlet and a diminished water supply, but flooding? Hmm

wrt the other tanks, it is interesting that the tank with all the white paint(?) appears to have been cut before. Probably just for some type of maintenance procedure.

Not sure why it would cause flooding if a body was put into a tank, but it did seem to affect several things ..

"maintenance worker went up to investigate reports of low water pressure"


Snip

He said the floor also experience flooding that night.

'They said there was some obstruction to the drain between the third and fourth floor,' Mr Diaz told the Times

BBM
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...nk-Cecil-Hotel-Los-Angeles.html#ixzz2LUDyZKMc
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

 

[tarabull]

I think she was frantic the way she punched all of those buttons and then hid in the corner. It would be heart-wrenching to think she was trying to escape someone but then led to her own demise when she accidentally hit the hold door button. But she hit other buttons first and the elevator just didn't move. So, I don't think her punching the door hold button is relevant, IMO.

fwiw, I believe the DOOR HOLD button is completely relevant.

But I also agree to disagree...

Cheers Indy!

 

[Eileen730]

YES a lock requiring a key that only hotel staff would have & an alarm that alerts HOTEL SECURITY...

Yes! Because if you notice after she leaves the elevator at the end of the video it changes floors its not stuck there any longer.

 

[Chorley8]

An autopsy has not yet been scheduled for the woman but would likely occur Thursday morning, Los Angeles County coroner's spokesman Ed Winter said.

Winter said investigators were still trying to determine how and why Lam got in the water tank and had "no idea" yet how long she may have been inside. The matter is being treated as a death investigation, he said.

Law enforcement officials familiar with the case said although foul play was always a possibility, they are closely examining whether her death might have been accidental.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2013/02/missing-tourist.html

Always a possibility? Laughable if it wasn't so terrible. And yes someone from the family should ID her. Of course it is a terrible task.

Essential because the video appears to have been manipulated, why? And the release of the video is possibly intended to lead things in a certain direction - potentially by people who already knew she was dead.

Everything speaks against this being an accidental death EXCEPT (and then not persuasively IMO) for that few minutes of video - with newspaper articles obligingly stressing she is acting strangely. Yes I think it nearly certain that it is her - but to trust LAPD on this is dangerous IMO. They should ID her themselves, the immediate family - it is ESSENTIAL to do this.

Someone saying they saw a birthmark is not enough - it is not enough typically to ID victims of traffic accidents why accept it here? First things first.

 

[tarabull]

Strange isnt it, reminds me of Annie Le found in that wall.
Didnt they say the roof was locked and had an alarm?

YES a lock requiring a key that only hotel staff would have & an alarm that alerts HOTEL SECURITY

...

Yes! Because if you notice after she leaves the elevator at the end of the video it changes floors its not stuck there any longer.

:waitasec:

 

[Eileen730]

I wondered if she might be fussing with her hair in the mirror across from the elevator...but the question remains, could she even see herself in the mirror across from the elevator clear enough to be fussing over her hair...???...

I thought she was fussing with her hair also like pulling it up in a ponytail then walks back in the elevator. I still think she is talking to someone!
Or she is afraid and talking to herself. I have to say that video is creepy.

 

[tarabull]

I thought she was fussing with her hair also like pulling it up in a ponytail then walks back in the elevator. I still think she is talking to someone!
Or she is afraid and talking to herself. I have to say that video is creepy.

Creepy indeed...even more so now that we know her life ends

I tend to think there is someone else present also --- someone who knows where the camera is.

:candle: for Ms. Lam...!!!

 

[tarabull]

17 members *71 GUESTS...

*Join in the convo..

There's always room for one more...!!!

:seeya: