CA/Canada - Elisa Lam - 21 years old - Los Angeles/Vancouver - 31-Jan-2013 - #2

[Cherry]

Another bizarre coincidence is there was a Japanese movie made called 'Dark Water', where a mother and her toddler daughter move into a sleazy run-down hotel and the little girl ends up climbing into the hotel water tank. Throughout the movie they have elevator trouble with people having funny tasting water! Extremely strange coincidence. See the trailer of the movie here:
dark water japanese trailer.mp4 - YouTube

Omg yes I saw this awhile back; the red bag and stuff...eerily similar! This case also made me think of Leah Hickman whose case was never solved and she was stuffed into an area in a basement of her laundry in the apt she lived in.

 

[kunibob]

Is it fact that she said her sleeping pills prescription had run out ? Could some friendly soul around the hotel said ' oh dont worry i can get you that same pill on the street for 10 bucks' took her money and gave her any other kind of pill and she took it thinking it was her sleeping pill ?

That quote was from a Tumblr post that was long before this trip, so I think it was quoted to show that she has a history of sleeping pill use.

There is a lengthy old post on her blog that I chanced upon last night (I would post a link, but I'm confused about what the moderator ruling was on that -- are we allowed?) where she was talking about her personal feelings on abstaining from drinking, and how she gets weird looks sometimes for not drinking at parties, so I'm thinking she's a very low risk for willfully taking drugs. Things change, of course, but still, feels low risk to me. To me, it seems a stretch that she would take a pill from a stranger (friendly or not) while travelling alone in a dangerous area, unless she had had a mental break of some sort (which is possible; it would have to be a stronger one than ever before, though, since while hypomania lowers inhibitions a bit, it generally speaking isn't as bad as mania).

Probably OT but this is curious . Sorry if it's been posted.

http://www.news1130.com/2013/02/22/chinese-tourists-go-missing-in-richmond/

RICHMOND (NEWS1130) – Mounties in Richmond say two Chinese nationals have walked away from tour groups visiting the Lower Mainland, bringing the total number to four since last summer.

With respect, I don't think that's related. About 20% of people in the Greater Vancouver Area are of Chinese descent, so there's not much likelihood that the two cases are tied.

 

[luckycat7]

Good morning. Is anybody else really frustrated that LE is so quiet in regards to a perp? The media here is really playing the mental health issue. Why the autopsy on the brain?
I don't think she got in the tank herself! The opening seems so small. I noticed looking up this morning while in my parking lot next to the cecil that the bottom of the left back tank is cut out, at least 3-4 feet of a square hole. You would be able to see someone on the top of that tank looking up on the sidewalk on main. LE doesn't even seem to be asking for witnesses.

 

[Robert White]

If she was dropped onto the tank with the pipes on it from above or fell on the tank, her body would show bruising or damage whether she was already dead or not IMO. I'm just wondering about the loud noise that woke someone up in the middle of the night. JMO

I also agree with this. Given the opening size (someone mentioned 13 inches?), it would be highly unlikely one would fit in that without causing pain to one's self. You would also need considerable arm strength to lower yourself in from the edges, unless you jumped in vertical. However you run the high risk of knocking yourself out on the vertical descent (ie. chin to edge).

 

[Buckeye lady]

I don't remember seeing this posted earlier:

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/los_angeles&id=9002570


This is an odd statement, suggesting the possibility she did suffer from a major psychiatric disorder. "Other organs" likely implies the liver and kidneys, which filter drugs and toxins, so this would be a routine toxicology test. It is the tests on Elisa's brain that would be unusual.

My sister died suddenly in the 80's, not in a violent manner but very suddenly.She had to have an autopsy. She did have a seizure disorder when she was young but hadn't had one for a long time. They checked her brain also. Maybe they are looking for signs of seizure, brain aneurism, brain tumor or internal injury to the brain.If she had been given anti convulsants for a mental illness and suddenly stopped taking them, it would cause convulsions or seizures. I know after the scary part of the sezure, the person is confused and may run out in the street or anything. I have seen it many times as I used to take care of someone who suffered from seizures.They seem to have a super strength too.

 

[SCHMAE]

Good morning. Is anybody else really frustrated that LE is so quiet in regards to a perp? The media here is really playing the mental health issue. Why the autopsy on the brain?
I don't think she got in the tank herself! The opening seems so small. I noticed looking up this morning while in my parking lot next to the cecil that the bottom of the left back tank is cut out, at least 3-4 feet of a square hole. You would be able to see someone on the top of that tank looking up on the sidewalk on main. LE doesn't even seem to be asking for witnesses.

Lucky, are you right there? Would you want to run up to those elevators and check out those buttons for us ? LOL and maybe take a little pic ? And maybe see if you can push enough to get the door to stick open for 2.5 min or whatever it was ?

 

[Robert White]

Good morning. Is anybody else really frustrated that LE is so quiet in regards to a perp? The media here is really playing the mental health issue. Why the autopsy on the brain?
I don't think she got in the tank herself! The opening seems so small. I noticed looking up this morning while in my parking lot next to the cecil that the bottom of the left back tank is cut out, at least 3-4 feet of a square hole. You would be able to see someone on the top of that tank looking up on the sidewalk on main. LE doesn't even seem to be asking for witnesses.

LE may have a number of reasons for this. A primary cause could relate back to the fact that they do have germane information, and releasing it to the public can jeopardize their case/lead.

Everyone should keep in mind that LE can and do often mislead the public in on going cases to manipulate its course (positively speaking). This is from professional/personal experience, not a theory.

 

[jetsetsam]

Schlock Homes, you are right, the video is from a room. My mistake.

But there is the video of the amateur acrobat, and the graffiti.

 

[luckycat7]

I'm resisting, but tempted. The Cecil has always freaked me out. If LE doesn't start talking I may start investigating. (Kidding) really though, the energy in these buildings is very negative. I've felt it in the Alexandria and I'm sure the Cecil would creep me out. You can feel the death. LA feels like a film noir.
Anyway, point is, that tank is very visible from main. And if enough of you convince me, maaaybbeee ill go in and take a pic for you. Even though I think there's a perp in that hotel. Freaky.

 

[SCHMAE]

I'm resisting, but tempted. The Cecil has always freaked me out. If LE doesn't start talking I may start investigating. (Kidding) really though, the energy in these buildings is very negative. I've felt it in the Alexandria and I'm sure the Cecil would creep me out. You can feel the death. LA feels like a film noir.
Anyway, point is, that tank is very visible from main. And if enough of you convince me, maaaybbeee ill go in and take a pic for you. Even though I think there's a perp in that hotel. Freaky.

Take a friend ! Do a live stream we'll call 911 if we see someones creeping on you !

 

[LittleWing]

Very interesting stuff guys...

I was also wondering if the lid on the tank had been sealed when the maintenance man went to have a look.

Another thing I'm confused by....was she staying in Stay, the "hipper" hostel aimed at a younger crowd, which I believe is right next to Cecil (and Elise mentions in her tumblr about the big hotel next door built in the 1920s I think? I think she is referring to the Cecil...Can't post link as cause of the font colour I can barely read her blog...can't change colour either as I'm sing an iPad).

So is Stay a part of Cecil, are they connected yet separate like townhouses of do they bleed in to eachother??? Ie once inside one, you're inside both?? It's harder to find ino on stay because the name is so generic!!

Here's a pic of a stay hallway, see same tiles and basic look as Cecil

Couple more photos....
Better look at the hole cut into the tank to remove Elisa's body

I thought the yellow thing the firefighters were holding was a tarp, as they are holding it almost vertically like to block the view. But definitely possible it was used as a stretcher. Looking at this photo you can see the FF on the tank is using some sort of yellow sheeting as well.

Here we see FF's leaving Cecil with bags of stuff..like that yellow sheet in the photo above

Here it's raining a we can see some umbrellas...

And here they've set up a big white tarp thingy (lol). The way everybody appears to be looking down seemingly at something, kinda gathered in the central part of the photo...they also don't seem too concerned about rain as many are standing outside the canopy...coud they have placed her body under there?

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[Catchew]

LE may have a number of reasons for this. A primary cause could relate back to the fact that they do have germane information, and releasing it to the public can jeopardize their case/lead.

Everyone should keep in mind that LE can and do often mislead the public in on going cases to manipulate its course (positively speaking). This is from professional/personal experience, not a theory.

Thanks Robert - it's definitely beneficial having your professional knowledge.
With respect to the part of your post BBM, is it possible LE manipulated the elevator video for this purpose? Some of us believe individuals could have been edited out of the video - either innocent(s) or POI(s).

 

[luckycat7]

LE may have a number of reasons for this. A primary cause could relate back to the fact that they do have germane information, and releasing it to the public can jeopardize their case/lead.

Everyone should keep in mind that LE can and do often mislead the public in on going cases to manipulate its course (positively speaking). This is from professional/personal experience, not a theory.

I understand this. I think I'm irrationally thinking because I'm one block away. It's not fair to the community to keep a potential threat on the streets. I hope there is some kind of watch on any potential suspect, if any.

It would not be past LAPD, though, to be handling the case Inappropriately. I lived in San Diego during several cases and felt LE was much more communicative during these times and media was portraying situations accurately. Specifically during the Chelsea King case.

 

[silsby]

LE may have a number of reasons for this. A primary cause could relate back to the fact that they do have germane information, and releasing it to the public can jeopardize their case/lead.

Everyone should keep in mind that LE can and do often mislead the public in on going cases to manipulate its course (positively speaking). This is from professional/personal experience, not a theory.

I do not have professional experience but when I think back to another case I followed, the Mickey Shunick one, so many of us on Websleuths were frustrated by the lack of information given to the public, by the seeming lack of leads, etc. We were overanalyzing the scant footage to the point where we were seeing things that weren't there. Then all of a sudden, the perp was arrested and gave all sorts of information and a confession. Turned out they had a lot of evidence they were indeed keeping close to the vest to make a seamless case against the obvious [but unknown to most of the public] perp. IMO, in this case, there are a lot of international people who could have been potential witnesses, or worse, and releasing too much could send important people fleeing easily. I hope this is the case, at least.

 

[commspecialist]

They shouldn't release too much info. We're here to share what we know with LE and speculate, we have no right to their evidence or information. If they released sensitive evidence and info, they could lose the perp.

And if anyone knows something really important, it must be shared with law enforcement first, not here (common sense, I know, but just saying that I understand why they want to keep things quiet).

 

[DigiB]

I understand this. I think I'm irrationally thinking because I'm one block away. It's not fair to the community to keep a potential threat on the streets. I hope there is some kind of watch on any potential suspect, if any.

It would not be past LAPD, though, to be handling the case Inappropriately. I lived in San Diego during several cases and felt LE was much more communicative during these times and media was portraying situations accurately. Specifically during the Chelsea King case.

I run on a regular basis about three miles from where Chelsea king was murdered and I agree that the case was handled differently in that they found the body and the perp quite quickly. I avoided running for all of four days when that happened. What bothered me about that case was that Amber Dubious had been missing for a year and it appeared to me that LE was not really looking anymore. Meanwhile Gardner was among us. I also think they could have made more effort to locate her cell phone but its MOO. I think there were lots of variables I'm not aware of and fortunately they got the guy.
That being said, this case doesn't have an entire community of people she knew supporting a local manhunt. Chelsea King did. This case is international. Sad, but I think it could be slowing thing down. Also, in the King case it was an obvious murder. MOO

 

[LittleWing]

Thanks Robert - it's definitely beneficial having your professional knowledge.
With respect to the part of your post BBM, is it possible LE manipulated the elevator video for this purpose? Some of us believe individuals could have been edited out of the video - either innocent(s) or POI(s).

I recall someone mentioning on the first thread that it's possible the CCTV camera is motion activated, which could explain the weird choppiness as SillyBilly pointed out in the video.....so it's possible that the CCTV turned back on only once it detected the motion of the elevator door opening.

Anyway off to bed for me see you all later...!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[Chorley8]

Would also be interested in any first person accounts (as well as media) of her body being removed from the hotel.

 

[luckycat7]

I run on a regular basis about three miles from where Chelsea king was murdered and I agree that the case was handled differently in that they found the body and the perp quite quickly. I avoided running for all of four days when that happened. What bothered me about that case was that Amber Dubious had been missing for a year and it appeared to me that LE was not really looking anymore. Meanwhile Gardner was among us. I also think they could have made more effort to locate her cell phone but its MOO. I think there were lots of variables I'm not aware of and fortunately they got the guy.
That being said, this case doesn't have an entire community of people she knew supporting a local manhunt. Chelsea King did. This case is international. Sad, but I think it could be slowing thing down. Also, in the King case it was an obvious murder. MOO

Absolutely. I'm a Poway high grad and parents live 1 mile from where she was found. I know it's a world of different case and no comparison but in the sense of LE and media, regardless of person, Elisa's case is eerie in the lack of communication to the community and on local news :-/

 

[Robert White]

Thanks Robert - it's definitely beneficial having your professional knowledge.
With respect to the part of your post BBM, is it possible LE manipulated the elevator video for this purpose? Some of us believe individuals could have been edited out of the video - either innocent(s) or POI(s).

Thanks Catchew, its been a real pleasure to listen on other opinions and theories. I can learn just as much as anyone. Unfortunately, anything I say on the matter of video would be speculation. I know that it has been mentioned that it was motion activated. Also, a large majority of CCTVs are not monitored by security, but recorded in the event of an incident. This seems to be the case with this unfortunate incident.

I understand this. I think I'm irrationally thinking because I'm one block away. It's not fair to the community to keep a potential threat on the streets. I hope there is some kind of watch on any potential suspect, if any.

It would not be past LAPD, though, to be handling the case Inappropriately. I lived in San Diego during several cases and felt LE was much more communicative during these times and media was portraying situations accurately. Specifically during the Chelsea King case.

LE can and have dropped the ball. I never want to say this, and please no one take this out of context. But cases can go cold, and LE deviate resources onto other cases. Because this is an international case, I doubt it will go away as fast as if it were local. However, I am positive the LAPD and the RCMP liaison personnel are doing the best they can. Just keep in mind that no new information does not mean its a bad thing.

On a personal note, I had a long talk with my girlfriend last night about personal safety. Just be situation aware, know your surroundings, and most of all don't be naive to be people. For every good soul out there, there's a bad one. Its the best advice I can give to my girlfriend, and anyone else out there.

I do not have professional experience but when I think back to another case I followed, the Mickey Shunick one, so many of us on Websleuths were frustrated by the lack of information given to the public, by the seeming lack of leads, etc. We were overanalyzing the scant video to the point where we were seeing things that weren't there. Then all of a sudden, the perp was arrested and gave all sorts of information and a confession. Turned out they had a lot of evidence they were indeed keeping close to the vest to make a seamless case against the obvious [but unknown to most of the public] perp. IMO, in this case, there are a lot of international people who could have been potential witnesses, or worse, and releasing too much could send important people fleeing easily. I hope this is the case, at least.

Thanks Silsby for pointing this out. Its very true. Its easy to start believing in your own theories, especially when you have positive reinforcement from others. Although new to this site, I think there is a good open forum with lots of good ideas being tossed around.