CA/Canada - Elisa Lam - 21 years old - Los Angeles/Vancouver - 31-Jan-2013 - #4

[Coco_Chanel]

I think you need to look at the time first, when does this appear...on 00:10 or at 2:56?Elisa Lam Video - YouTube
And where exactly do you see it?. Inside the elevator or outside..on some surface?

oh and I see it on the same side as the elevator panel (buttons) but slightly on the edge

 

[SCHMAE]

So I'm watching dark water, the japanese version right now. Has anyone else watched it? I'm only about 1/3 of the way through and really it's uncanny how many elevator scenes there are and how it's almost a focal point . I wonder if anyone else thought so. tks

 

[Xavier]

If there was flooding on the 4th floor the night Elisa disappeared, maybe that is what she is describing with her weird hand gesture in the video, and why she was roaming around the hotel.

The flooding on the 4th floor and many other floors occured AFTER Elisa was missing...

After a room on the fourth floor flooded and others experienced weak water pressure at the Cecil Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, a maintenance worker went to check one of the large metal water cisterns on the roof on Tuesday and discovered the woman's body, the Los Angeles Times reports.


http://www.heavy.com/news/2013/02/body-found-in-tank/

 

[samevo8]

If EL was indeed found naked in the cistern then it would be much more logical for her to have entered (or been placed into) the cistern naked. That is, either she climbed in naked or was carried in naked. I find it extremely hard to buy the idea that water (and we're not talking about some Perfect Storm type of whirlpool action) can take off three layers of top clothing (hoodie, shirt, maybe bra) and two layers of lower clothing (shorts, underwear), as well as sandals and then have all that conveniently suck down a 4" diameter pipe.

Even if the clothes didn't get all sucked down (ie: she was found naked by her clothes were in the cistern somewhere, perhaps clogging the pipe), I wouldn't buy the idea that all that clothing could be taken off.

Also, after looking at the ladders (up the fire escape, the wooden ladder up the side of the cistern, and I think there's another access method to something 2 meters or so above the cistern's top), I'd imagine with the type of sandals/flip flops EL was wearing, it'd be precarious to try to climb with her flip flops/sandals on. Meaning... more likely bare feet during the ascent Although it's probably not impossible to climb up with sandals, I do recall that on the Chinese site, Brandon and his partner (the author) mentioned that you needed some guts/bravery to climb up the fire escape. I think that's due to the vertical ascent and the fact that climbing up a metal ladder isn't the most sure footed method of going places. Thus, having sandals on wouldn't make sense.

I know right. It doesn't make sense to me either. Her gym shorts can be sucked into the pipes? The water current is able to suck the shorts, elastic fastening around her waist and all, from her waist all the way down past her ankles so it can get whirled into the water pipe? :waitasec:

And her sandals too?? Or do they have their own theory about the sandals they are not revealing? Or have they found it? Hmm... what a mystery. I don't really get this part of the police reasoning. But since they are keeping mum about most aspects of this case, I suppose we may never know unless they say so...

 

[Doruk]

Which then proves even more that she didn't 'accidentally' fall into that tank, as the police have put out there as one theory. The dogs would have traced her scent to the tank.

But even so, assuming she may be on the roof, why did they not search the tanks? The roof is fairly wide open, there appeared to be only a few places one could conceal a body if foul play occurred, and you'd think checking the tanks would have been done regardless of whether the dogs picked up her scent or not.

Sloppy police work?

EL's body scent may have been masked by chemicals and the dogs were unable to track. She may have taken some substance that alters her body chemistry. Or her clothes may have been doused with chemicals. Or she may have spilled something chemically strong on herself.

Very possible that she was high on drug or she stopped taking her medications and was in a bad withdrawal. And either she alone, or someone else marched her up to roof. She or another person removes her clothing and she dives in head first, under duress, or intoxicated or mind-altered due to drugs or her organic disorders.

From what the LAPD PR representative says, looks like LE is leaning towards self-provoked "accident" if toxicology comes back negative.

 

[Shlock Homes]

If there was flooding on the 4th floor the night Elisa disappeared, maybe that is what she is describing with her weird hand gesture in the video, and why she was roaming around the hotel.

Possibly, but it doesn't look like she was in any hurry to get back. Plus it doesn't explain why she keeps pressing all the buttons in the middle column.

People keep thinking she was in danger, or fearing for her life in that footage, she doesn't look like it at all. Even her last movements when she's counting off on her fingers, you see her bending her knees, like she's over exaggerating in a playful way. Maybe she's doing it in a mocking manner. Either way, there wasn't any threat at that point.

 

[noodled1]

Which then proves even more that she didn't 'accidentally' fall into that tank, as the police have put out there as one theory. The dogs would have traced her scent to the tank.

But even so, assuming she may be on the roof, why did they not search the tanks? The roof is fairly wide open, there appeared to be only a few places one could conceal a body if foul play occurred, and you'd think checking the tanks would have been done regardless of whether the dogs picked up her scent or not.

Sloppy police work?

I would imagine they would check the tanks. Like you said there's only so many hiding places on that roof.

If they didn't shame on them

 

[samevo8]

From her Tumblr, she seems quite into fashion and reading (she mentions bringing something like 50 lbs of books back to or from Toronto during her December 2012 visit). Have a reference to the Great Gatsby would make sense since she apparently loved reading so much (she was also a poetic writer, from her entry in Ontario where's she's reflecting at a cafe by herself.)

Actually, I thought she was giving unsolicited film location advice about
Baz Luhrmann's remake of the Great Gatsby. She thought it would be
suitable because it's in the Art Deco style.

What it makes me aware of is how into Hollywood she is and the entertainment industry as a whole.

 

[Doruk]

IMO the thunderous sounds might've been a long, long waterline of pipes being clogged, backed up....and it's a really old hotel, which adds to the sound effects

Strange that the thunderous sound coincidentally ended up coming from the 4th floor, the same floor as EL, according to ear witness.

 

[Xavier]

So I'm watching dark water, the japanese version right now. Has anyone else watched it? I'm only about 1/3 of the way through and really it's uncanny how many elevator scenes there are and how it's almost a focal point . I wonder if anyone else thought so. tks

Schmae -- Have not seen "Dark Water" And I think with all of the obvious film fans in LA, I believe this is a copycat murder and Elisa's death mimic's the movie

Some psycho demon out in LA thought this would be funny

 

[RhiannonR]

I just had a bunch of posts deleted from this thread, which I had spent almost all day working on . A couple of them mentioned the fact that Elizabeth Short , the murder victim in the famous Black Dahlia mutilation murder was staying at the Cecil Hotel when she died, and that one of the characters in the much-discussed and much-associated film Dark Water was name Dahlia. Why would that be considered illogical, when it was some of the alarming synchs with Elisa Lam and the Dark Water films (asians, water tank body, malfunctioning elevator, etc.) , combined with the incredibly dark history of the Cecil Hotel itself , which had sparked so much of the initial interest in this thread?

THis is one tiny thread in an entire forum, and we have hair splitters micromanaging it to the point that pertinent posts are being wiped on impulse within moments of being posted on the basis that they are not rehashes of mainstream media pap. :great:

There was never any evidence linking Elizabeth Short with the Cecil. That is urban myth.

 

[noodled1]

Possibly, but it doesn't look like she was in any hurry to get back. Plus it doesn't explain why she keeps pressing all the buttons in the middle column.

People keep thinking she was in danger, or fearing for her life in that footage, she doesn't look like it at all. Even her last movements when she's counting off on her fingers, you see her bending her knees, like she's over exaggerating in a playful way. Maybe she's doing it in a mocking manner. Either way, there wasn't any threat at that point.

One of the biggest mistakes we may be making (me included) is assuming that she met her demise shortly after that video. That video and her actions in it may end up having no reference in what ultimately led in her death.

 

[Shlock Homes]

EL's body scent may have been masked by chemicals and the dogs were unable to track. She may have taken some substance that alters her body chemistry. Or her clothes may have been doused with chemicals. Or she may have spilled something chemically strong on herself.

Very possible that she was high on drug or she stopped taking her medications and was in a bad withdrawal. And either she alone, or someone else marched her up to roof. She or another person removes her clothing and she dives in head first, under duress, or intoxicated or mind-altered due to drugs or her organic disorders.

From what the LAPD PR representative says, looks like LE is leaning towards self-provoked "accident" if toxicology comes back negative.

I would say that's a real stretch, though. I mean having to talk about altered body chemistry, dousing with chemicals - that sounds intentional, but the altered body chemistry would not happen that quickly.

Someone mentioned that chinese media had said her limbs were broken. I think if that was the case, it would rule out her walking up there. Unfortunately, the police are really tight lipped, as is the media. No one here in the media is even trying to dig deeper into this case, like they're being spooked off of it.

 

[walklikeacat]

Oh my I'm so new to this lease:
I wasnt looking at the actual video I was looking at the screen shots posted by another user on this site in thread 1.....I dont recall noticing it all whle watching the video

It is OK Millions of people have been seated concentrated looking at every single inch on that video during this past week.

 

[Shlock Homes]

One of the biggest mistakes we may be making (me included) is assuming that she met her demise shortly after that video. That video and her actions in it may end up having no reference in what ultimately led in her death.

Yes, that video may not even be an indicator of her state of mind when she went missing. They also gave conflicting dates as to when it was filmed. They never said what time it was recorded either, or if they found the clothing she was wearing in that video in her room or if it's missing. They aren't saying jack, which is really annoying.

Someone a few pages back quoted Chinese media as having found that she was travelling down to meet a friend she met online. I don't know if that was ever proven or disproven, or if that friend was in San Diego or LA? But all the witnesses who saw her last say she was always seen alone, so it may be a false clue.

 

[Doruk]

I would say that's a real stretch, though. I mean having to talk about altered body chemistry, dousing with chemicals - that sounds intentional, but the altered body chemistry would not happen that quickly.

Someone mentioned that chinese media had said her limbs were broken. I think if that was the case, it would rule out her walking up there. Unfortunately, the police are really tight lipped, as is the media. No one here in the media is even trying to dig deeper into this case, like they're being spooked off of it.

What's your explanation for why the dogs couldn't track her?

Have you ever eaten curry? It changes your body scent very rapidly.

The latest report says her body showed NO injuries or wounds. Broken limbs debunked.

 

[samevo8]

I would like to know the date/time stamp of the video. We know that EL was last physically seen by hotel staff on Jan 31st. Also, I believe Jan 31st was the last time she made her daily/nightly update calls to her family. I'm inclined to believe the video was made early morning Feb 1st (ie: late late night of the 31st), but I can't tell based on the grainy Youtube video.

If I recall correctly, this video was referred to have been made after the last visual sighting of her (Jan 31st.)

One of the biggest mistakes we may be making (me included) is assuming that she met her demise shortly after that video. That video and her actions in it may end up having no reference in what ultimately led in her death.

 

[Xavier]

1. I'm a Soldier, therefore don't need much to be that pampered. However, this hotel was appalling! It also was two blocks from the homeless shelter and I didn't feel safe walking to the end of the block to get a beer. DO NOT STAY THERE.

2. Not accustomed to a room where the shower and toilet are down the hall for the price. The upgrade was $23 and the entire hotel had NO airconditioning, which is NOT disclosed.

3. Customer service leaves a lot to be desired, the "manager" was ruder than his staff which says a lot. No a/c; fans available upon request. This was a last minute choice, if I had realized that I had booked a hostel I would have chosen much differently.

4. honestly cant believe you list this hotel on your site. it was the worst hotel i have ever stayed in. and i travel quite a bit. the place hasnt been renovated in at least 50 years. maybe some tile in the hallways but the room i had looked like something out of new jack city. i didnt feel comfortable or safe and checked out the next morning at 7am to go to a new hotel. you should really check out the hotels you have on the site before you put them up

5. This is just a really bad hotel that belongs in a third world country. The rooms are tiny, no air conditioning, neighborhood is scary, clean but old old and old. Just not worth staying there.

6. I think that hotel is the worse hotel in los angeles u guys should investigate a little more before recommended the lobby was fine but is a place where do not have AC in Los Angeles where is so hot so the room was dirty smell horrible impossible to stayed so my recommendation is please at lease used real information when u recommend an hotel, another thing was i had to paid another hotel which was the best because for someone that had just been in a plane for 10 hours and arrived to that horrible hotel was an unplaced experience

7. Very cheap and you get what you paid for. Very dangerous neighborhood

8. No Air conditioner even no fan!!! Staff are very arrogant!!! Spent one sleepless night!!!

9. Great price and great last-minute booking. Only a short walk from the Nokia Theater and Little Tokyo district, but was also very noisy at night.



Genuine Hotels.com guest review

 

[samevo8]

Plus there's no reference of meeting a friend in her Tumblr postings. One of her early postings on Tumblr in regards to her "West Coast tour" does mention that applications are now open for meet ups. So there could be a possibility of meeting up with fellow Tumblr people in California that followed her account.

Yes, that video may not even be an indicator of her state of mind when she went missing. They also gave conflicting dates as to when it was filmed. They never said what time it was recorded either, or if they found the clothing she was wearing in that video in her room or if it's missing. They aren't saying jack, which is really annoying.

Someone a few pages back quoted Chinese media as having found that she was travelling down to meet a friend she met online. I don't know if that was ever proven or disproven, or if that friend was in San Diego or LA? But all the witnesses who saw her last say she was always seen alone, so it may be a false clue.

 

[Shlock Homes]

I would imagine they would check the tanks. Like you said there's only so many hiding places on that roof.

If they didn't shame on them

If they did check the tanks, then that means her body was not there Feb 6th or so when they were looking around. And that rules out accidental death by a long shot.