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

[Eileen730]

I've seen 15th floor listed and over but I'm only counting 13 floors PLUS the ground floor, so total of 14 unless I'm not seeing right. I do know some hotels, especially older ones, may skip the 13th floor and call it the 14th floor, but other than that I do not see 15 floors.

It has 15 floors! I had a pic of the 15th floor id post it but I dont know how to screen shot it.

 

[ThinkHard]

I can say for sure, it doesn't look like she was on drugs. Being Chinese, I can only say she acted like a typical Chinese in such situation.
1) she goes into elevator expecting it to work.
2) elevator doesn't work, she gets a bit scare. (like "zhong guai lor"--translate wtf is there a freaking ghost, it's a chinese thing)
3) goes out checking if someone is there.
4) waves the hand near the elevator door to check if the sensor is jacked up.
5) finally gives up.

I can't figure out why she was counting

It would be interesting to know if she had been a life long resident of Canada or had moved there later in life, it might give us a better indication of for perhaps cultural reasons for her actions and motions at the elevator.

I have no Asian ancestry at all and can not comment with any knowledge on that perspective, but to me she really does look like she is sleep walking from an ambien induced state. Which would also explain wandering the hotel, on the wrong floor, in the middle of the night without her glasses.

Though PERHAPS culture could explain her gestures, I don't think it explains what put her in that location in the first place, if it was 2am. And when you put the two aspects together it just seems like ambien induced sleepwalking.

 

[AnonymousD]

It has 15 floors! I had a pic of the 15th floor id post it but I dont know how to screen shot it.

Here you go, Eileen730

 

[Sillybilly]

From googling images of the hotel and its roof, it seems that only one of the stairs lead to the roof ( the one to the elevator camera's left). But there are fire escape ladders that also appear to lead up there. The fire escape ladders are at the end of at least one of the outer wings. (Hard to find pictures of the whole roof -- most of them focus on the water tanks area.)

<rsbm>

Welcome CuriousB !!

Streetview shows the front of the hotel with ladders going from balcony to balcony and, as you pull with the cursor to view the top of the hotel, you can see an opening in the roof. This is just one side of the hotel, and wandering around Streetview, I have seen the same ladders on other sides as well, just hadn't noticed the opening at the top:

 

[Eileen730]

Here you go, Eileen730

Oh thanks so much!
I figured out how to use the snipping tool but i dont know how to paste it to here lol..

thanks muchly I appreciate it!:

 

[Sillybilly]

Side view showing fire escape ladders in the centre tower and back of hotel. Hard to see, but in the centre tower at the very top, it looks as though the escape ladder goes right onto the rooftop:

 

[ThinkHard]

Some other thoughts...

She was last seen in the overnight hours (approximately 2am, on elevator survelliance) between Thursday 1/31 and Friday 2/1....correct? As far as we know so far?

She was discovered on Tuesday 2/19, and believed to be in the water tank for 2 weeks......that would mean she was put in the water tank on Tuesday 2/5......or about 5 days after she went missing.

She was reportedly found completely naked. And given that no immediate signs of death were apparent on the autopsy report it would lead me to believe two things, there was no signs of trauma on the body (at least not lethal trauma), and she in all likelyhood was dead before she was placed in there. If she was alive when placed in there her lungs would have filled with water in a specific way, and cause not manner of death would be more identifiable.

So if we assume from that, she was stripped of clothing, and already deceased....she clearly didn't put herself in that water tank.

I also given the info we know, unless LE is mistaken about the length of time she was in the water, find it hard to believe that she was ever on the roof when she was alive. If someone had lured her up there the day she disappeared, then did they kill her and bring her back to their room deceased only to return her body to the roof later? Seems unlikely. Or did they just leave her body in another location on the roof, only to decide to move it to the water tank five days after the initial attack. Also seems unlikely to me, as someone else surely could have ventured up there in those 5 days and seen the body.

It seems more likely if she was on the roof the night she disappeared, either on her own, or because someone lured her, she at least left the roof that night alive. But again I'm not really sure I believe a living elisa ever set foot on that roof.

I'm theororizing that, a long time resident, or frequent resident of the Cecil hotel, perhaps one with a history of sexual crimes, came upon a disorientated girl, lured or forced her into his room, and perhaps kept her alive, and quiet (drugs or restraints), while he did unspeakable sexual things to her for 5 days. Then when you decided he was finished with her, intentionally overdosed her. Removed her clothes, cleaned her, and in the darkness f night, and with a great deal of familiarity of the hotel, decided to hide her body on the water tank.

The fact that she was completely nude, makes me think, that this person had committed crimes like this against women before, and knew how to avoid leaving DNA on the body.

Lastly I think the reason the autopsy reports are not yet known, is due to the fact because (again in theory) she had no signs of trauma, and was obviously deceased when entering the water....LE is guessing that she actually died of some kind of overdose, and they are hoping the exact medication or chemical that caused her death, with give them a better indication of who may have given it to her.

* if she did die of an overdose of medication, I think it was because of something specific someone else gave her, and I think that drug is completely separate from the possibility of ambien being the reason for her sleep walking in the halls.

 

[Sillybilly]

Here we are. I believe this image shows quite clearly that the fire escape ladders go directly to the rooftop. The left tower in the image is the centre tower of the Cecil:

 

[mollymae]

I joined because of this case~ I am intrigued yet saddened by the tragic result.

This was freaky Youtube video of the roof...it seems easily accessible...watching this clip sent chills.

Cecil Hotel - YouTube

Another clip, maybe irrelevant, but an example of the strangeness going on in the hotel.

dell boy the cecil hotel bars return ay scum in the sun - YouTube

and unfortunately, the Morbid Youtube has been privated....but I looked at his profile, and it is very disturbing. I didn't bother looking at the rather gory videos associated with his profile. The screen cap is still available on google archive...don't know if anyone can recover the video though. You can click the person's profile from the link.

http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...ded=1&v=E5Si4bDfnzA+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=hk

I found in all of this...something unsettling about this reporter as well.....I hope its just his hair...but this news network isn't really a news media outlet...but seems to be the guy's own website.

Elisa Lam Case ~ Body Found In Water Tank At Cecil Hotel - YouTube

I apologize if I am not allowed to post these links, but I would just like to share it if possible.

Oh my gosh, that first video made me want to throw up. You'd never catch me walking along a little beam like that!

I doubt the guy with the hair is anything to worry about. Just an amateur reporter/sleuth. Btw, that hair style is known as the "skullet" where I come from :crazy:

 

[EAS]

http://www.forensicmed.co.uk/pathology/bodies-recovered-from-water/

I think I learned about the subject above from a case here.
So, the reason why they can't determine the COD, I believe, has something to do with the idea that she really was in that water tank for two-weeks.

I am a firm believer that she didn't go up there alone. She was there 3 days before ending up on the roof -- she had to of made a friend, or overheard staff/patrons, and got up there.

If she was naked, in no way in hell was this an accident - sorry. If it was, gonna take a crazy long time to convince me of that.

Have Elisa's parents stated now, after finding her, why she was in California? I haven't read that, and it was super secretive when she was missing.

Hi there-- I did quite a bit of delving into her tumblr (confirmed hers with cross-references to facebook/Twitter, timeline of events, etc) which I will not link here out of respect for board rules, but I'll paraphrase as best I can. The trip to California seems to have been in her calendar since at least Dec 18th, if not before. It seems she had traveled a bit before that date, having gone to Toronto and Ontario, staying in at least one hostel, and speaking about making friends with staff.

On the 18th of Dec, she talks about saving up money to leave for California. Seems there was some tension with the family, caused by her depression probably and their opinions of it from what I can tell, and also possibly to her performance at Uni and taking a break from it. She speaks on Dec 21st about going on her first WWOOF trip (which google tells me is world wide opportunities on organic farms) which will take her to Santa Cruz. She talks about seeing if she can enroll in some sort of beginners comp sci programming class-- implies she's embarrassed at how little she knows about computers while younger kids seem to know so much.

She then points out her frustration that UCSC's extension/adult ed classes are actually in Santa Clara, which will be too far for her to travel from Santa Cruz, and laments that she doesn't like online courses and would prefer to be in a classroom.

So, to sum it up, sounds like she's going on a walkabout-- unsure what classes to take, dissatisfied with Uni in Canada, trying to find herself, etc and possibly start over again in California. It sounds like maybe her family was either not supportive or incredibly anxious about this, from how she describes their relationship. She also talks about people not understanding her illness when alluding to family relationships (again, paraphrasing).

I know this is a huge amount of probably needless info, but if any of you are anything like me, you may not mind being up to your necks in the minutiae of it all.

 

[Sillybilly]

She was last seen in the overnight hours (approximately 2am, on elevator survelliance) between Thursday 1/31 and Friday 2/1....correct? As far as we know so far?

She was discovered on Tuesday 2/19, and believed to be in the water tank for 2 weeks......that would mean she was put in the water tank on Tuesday 2/5......or about 5 days after she went missing.

She was reportedly found completely naked

<rsbm>

Trying to keep the record straight here:

Other than one initial find (not MSM) on the internet stating a nude body, NONE of the above is confirmed by either LE or MSM accounts.

 

[AnonymousD]

Oh thanks so much!
I figured out how to use the snipping tool but i dont know how to paste it to here lol..

thanks muchly I appreciate it!:

You are more than welcome!

On a Windows computer you can hit Alt + Print Screen (together), then open Paint, click Edit, click Paste. Viola! Your screen shot should go right to the Paint window. Then you will need to save it to your computer. When uploading said picture to WS, just click the little paperclip icon, select Choose File, then click Upload.

Or, if you use the Google Chrome browser, you can just use the add on called "Awesome Screenshot" that will put a little button on the top of your browser that looks similar to a camera lens. You just click it, choose what you want to save, save it, and use the same process to upload it to WS.

 

[Buckeye lady]

How could it be an accident?

Locked doors or no locked doors she would have to climb ladders and craw over the top of these water towers it makes nO sense at all.

Could be she was trying to get away from someone that had her on the roof, she climbed up that ladder on the side of that building next to the water towers
she then jumps down on the top of the tower and craws over no where left to go she goes in the tank the perp seals her in!

Just a thought!

I think you could be right. Maybe someone lured her up there and tried to rape her. Maybe there wasn't much water in there at the time and she crawled in there to hide. That is if the space wasn't too tight to get into. Then when the tank began to fill, she couldn't get out. No matter how it happened, it is a terrible tragedy and they will have an awful time finding the cause, if she was in the water a long time.

 

[dotr]

I can say for sure, it doesn't look like she was on drugs. Being Chinese, I can only say she acted like a typical Chinese in such situation.
1) she goes into elevator expecting it to work.
2) elevator doesn't work, she gets a bit scare. (like "zhong guai lor"--translate wtf is there a freaking ghost, it's a chinese thing)
3) goes out checking if someone is there.
4) waves the hand near the elevator door to check if the sensor is jacked up.
5) finally gives up.

I can't figure out why she was counting

Welcome to WS dotdren, and all the other new posters!
Lol, hope our similar user names will not mix anyone up besides me !

 

[Sillybilly]

Welcome to WS dotdren, all the other new posters!
Lol, hope our similar user names will not mix anyone up besides me !

S'okay todr ... i got it straight

 

[Eileen730]

You are more than welcome!

On a Windows computer you can hit Alt + Print Screen (together), then open Paint, click Edit, click Paste. Viola! Your screen shot should go right to the Paint window. Then you will need to save it to your computer. When uploading said picture to WS, just click the little paperclip icon, select Choose File, then click Upload.

Or, if you use the Google Chrome browser, you can just use the add on called "Awesome Screenshot" that will put a little button on the top of your browser that looks similar to a camera lens. You just click it, choose what you want to save, save it, and use the same process to upload it to WS.

Oh cool! Thanks again Ill practice today lol! I was trying to read the directions but i got lost. You make way more sense than they did.

 

[Eileen730]

I think you could be right. Maybe someone lured her up there and tried to rape her. Maybe there wasn't much water in there at the time and she crawled in there to hide. That is if the space wasn't too tight to get into. Then when the tank began to fill, she couldn't get out. No matter how it happened, it is a terrible tragedy and they will have an awful time finding the cause, if she was in the water a long time.

That is the only way I can see her going up on those towers herself,
Because she had no other choice.

 

[Buckeye lady]

Another thing that worries me is that some of those rooms are adjoining. What if someone broke into her room that way and harmed her?

 

[DR006]

Oops nevermind, it looks like they are just further down the page. Is this what people were talking about earlier regarding tumblr's "queue" system?

 

[CuriousB]

Here we are:

Thanks, silybilly! So there are definitely 3 sets of fire escape ladders leading up to the roof.

Of course we've already established that it's not that hard to get to the roof. People have pointed out graffiti, and there's the video a few posts up of the guy walking on the beam between wings of the hotel.

Though carrying a body up the fire escape ladder would probably be quite difficult, so if she got up by this route then she probably went up by herself or was lured / coerced.