Like many others here I've been following the threads on EL and finally decided to join the conversation.
The big question here is whether this was a homicide, suicide, or accidental death, possibly drug related. I lean towards homicide, but I'd like to point out an extremely unusual case to those who argue that it's ludicrous that EL could've willingly put herself in the tank.
The case of Jamie Minor seemed to get little coverage despite the bizarre nature of her death:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...sing-Texan-hostess-body-trapped-air-duct.html
A 26 year old woman with history of mental illness (bipolar disorder) is fired from her job at a hotel for acting erratically at work that day. A friend says she was "manic." Concerned coworkers call for a ride for her, but she disappears. She isn't seen again, is reported missing two weeks later by her parents after lack of contact. Her remains are found over a month later in the duct system of a restaurant she used to work at. Her purse and other belongings were abandoned on the ground outside the vent opening. This reads as foul play and homicide, right? Actually, Minor avoided the front door of the restaurant and climbed into the ducts in the parking garage an attempt to enter the building. It is speculated that she was trying to meet a friend who worked there. She eventually got stuck vertically in a spot where she couldn't move forward or backward and died. Another article notes that LSD, "bath salts", and Celexa (anti-depressant) were found in her skeletal tissue and liver, but didn't specify whether she was under the influence of the illegal ones before she died.
I've thought of Minor often while reading about EL's death, especially considering the parallels between the two: women in their 20s, bipolar, strange behavior prior to their disappearance, missing, last seen at a hotel, and later found dead in strange circumstances. I don't want to push the idea of accidental homicide, but wanted to use this as an example that anything is possible, especially when mental illness or drugs (interactions between medication or illegal ones) are involved.