Drowned in Darkness: The Unsettling Truth About Elisa Lam
A Descent into the Eerie Unknown Behind a Tragic Fate
The Cecil Hotel. You have heard that name before, I’m quite sure. The rumors of paranormal activity, the suicides, the murders, and the reputation for all manner of things nefarious—even convicted serial killers like The Night Stalker Richard Ramirez was known to stay at the Cecil Hotel. All in all, this hotel has a reputation.
The Cecil Hotel opened in 1924 for travelers and tourists, but fast-forward a few decades, and the hotel became a place for the homeless. The famous Skid Row is right at its doorway. The Cecil Hotel is most widely known for its dark and violent past— where tragedy was in great supply. Suicides, drug overdoses, and murders were all reported to have taken place. Even the famous “Black Dahlia” was seen at the Cecil a few days before she was found murdered. “Pigeon Goody” Osgood was a woman who was found murdered in her room by a hotel worker. However, in 2011 the hotel was rebranded as “Stay on Main” by the newest owners.
In January 2013, Elisa Lam, a 21-year-old Chinese Canadian student, booked into the Stay on Main and never checked out.
Elisa Lam’s Backstory
Elisa was the daughter of David and Yinna Lam, immigrants from Hong Kong. She suffered with bipolar disorder and depression. However, if she was on her medication, Elisa managed pretty well. Her family had reported that she did not have suicidal ideations or attempts. She did, however, have a history of not taking her medication regularly and her family reported that she had gone missing for a brief time. She was also hospitalized for one of her manic episodes.
In 2020, Elisa started a blog named Ether Fields with which she posted pictures of models and updates about her life highlighting her struggles with a mental illness. In 2012, she posted that she had a “relapse” and could barely function at the start of her school term. The title of her blog post was from a quote by Chuck Palaniuk. She made it the epitaph of her blog.
“You’re always haunted by the idea you’re wasting your life.”
After two years writing her blog, Elisa announced to her followers that she would be abandoning her blog to start a new one on Tumblr called Nouvelle-Nouveau. She posted fashion photos, quotes and a few words of her own. Interestingly enough, Elisa used the same quote from Palaniuk as her epitaph for this blog as well.
The Trip
Elisa Lam went to California. She visited the San Diego Zoo and posted on social media. She eventually ended up in Los Angeles and checked into the infamous Cecil Hotel on Skid Row where she would share a room with a few roommates. These girls complained about Elisa saying that she would leave them notes that said, “Go Away” and “Go Home”. She would also lock her roommates out of the room that they shared. The manager of the hotel, Lisa Price, moved Elisa into her own room on the 5th floor because the other girls reported that her behavior was odd and because of the other instances reported.
Elisa also attended a live taping of the Conan show but was escorted off the premises due to disruptive behavior.
The Disappearance and the Elevator Video
One of the conditions set by Elisa’s parents for her trip was that she was to call them every day. And up until a certain point, Elisa did. She even once had to use a payphone in the hotel to keep her promise.
On January 31, 2013, Elisa was supposed to check out from the Cecil Hotel and call her parents. She never called. Her parents called the Los Angeles Police Department to report her missing. They also flew to LA to help with the search.
When questioned, the hotel staff that saw Elisa that day reported that she was alone. Across the street from the hotel was a bookstore called The Last Bookstore and Katie Orphan, the bookstore manager, reported that she saw Elisa that day. She mentioned that Elisa seemed outgoing and friendly. Katie Orphan was reportedly the last person to see her alive.
The police searched the hotel as much as they legally could, including Elisa’s room. Fliers were posted in the neighborhood and online, helping get the word out about her disappearance.
After Elisa was missing for a week, police discovered a disturbing video. This was a key piece of evidence. This video shows her behaving oddly, going in and out of the elevator. Also, Elisa appears to be hiding from someone or something. After she left the elevator, the police lost track of her whereabouts. Several theories came out about the puzzling behavior, but once her Bipolar diagnosis came out, most people believed she was having a psychotic episode.
Discovery of the Body
Sometime later, residents of the Cecil Hotel started complaining about brown water that smelled and tasted bad. The hotel handyman went to the roof where there was a water tank. On February 19, the hotel handyman found Elisa Lam’s bloated body floating in one of four 1,000lb water tanks on the roof.
There had been no sign of trauma, no sexual assault or any evidence of suicide. Her body was naked and the clothes that she was wearing in the video were in the water with her.
Her toxicology report came back negative for drugs. Her prescription drugs for her mental illness were in such a low concentration that it appears Elisa was under-medicating.
Theories and Speculations
We know the cause of death in this case, however, there are still some unanswered questions.
How was Elisa able to get to the rooftop? The hotel reported that the staircase and rooftop access door were locked and only staff had the passkey.
How was Elisa able to get into the water tank? There was no ladder available for her to use.
One theory is that she climbed up the fire escape. Police scent dogs tracked her scent up the fire escape, but unfortunately, the dog lost her scent at the window. In a video on the internet, you can see that two water tanks had their access hatches open.
Another theory is that she was using illegal drugs. This was based on her erratic behavior seen in the elevator security video. When Elisa Lam’s toxicology report came back, this theory was rejected.
The autopsy findings were called into question. It was speculated that the findings were incomplete. The results of the rape kit and fingernail scrapings were not included. Some wonder if they were examined at all. The autopsy showed that there could have been a sexual assault, but other examiners suggested that the subcutaneous blood pooling around her anus was natural decomposition.
Whatever you might believe or whatever you might theorize, Elisa Lam’s disappearance and death, though ruled an accident, is a tragic mystery.
Sources:
Haunt Jaunts
Wikipedia-Death of Elisa Lam
YouTube: Anna Solves- The Girl Whose Rotting Body was Discovered in a Hotel Water Tank
Buzzfeed Unsolved: The Bizarre Death of Elisa Lam
Imagine being the person to report the brown funny smelling and tasting water, only to find out that a body has been decomposing in that water.
Creepy. Wish we new more about this case.