According to several reports such as Grunge and Women’s Health, Elisa Lam’s autopsy ruled the 21-year-old student’s cause of death as accidental drowning. Officials alleged that this was perpetrated by her withdrawal from prescribed medication for bipolar disorder. LAPD detective Wallace Tennelle said in a deposition, “My opinion is that she fell off her medication. In her state, she happened to find her way onto the roof and got into the tank of water.”
Lam went missing from the hotel in January 2013. She made a reservation for three nights in a shared room on January 28, 2013. However, she moved to a private room after her roommates complained about her unusual behavior. As per CNN, the woman’s parents reported her missing on January 31. A maintenance worker found her naked body inside one of four water cisterns 19 days later after guests started to complain about low water pressure.
Netflix’s Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel chronicles Elisa Lam’s mysterious death and the theories surrounding the case.
Elisa Lam’s autopsy & cause of death explained
According to the Los Angeles Times, coroner’s officials claimed Lisa Lam’s autopsy revealed that drugs did not contribute to her death in Cecil Hotel. Medical examination failed to find any visible signs of trauma on her body. Moreover, toxicology tests found nothing that contributed to her death. They ruled her death as an accidental drowning, further noting that her bipolar disorder was a significant condition.
Lam had been missing for nearly three weeks when the hotel’s maintenance worker found her decomposing body in one of the water cisterns. The discovery was made on February 19, 2013. Her parents had filed a missing person’s report on January 31. Before she vanished, surveillance footage from inside the hotel captured the 21-year-old in an elevator. It showed that she was pushing buttons for multiple floors. At one point, she even stepped out of the elevator and waved her arms.
Grunge reported that while police searched for Lam, her body was only discovered after guests at the hotel started complaining about low water pressure. They also reported a weird odor coming from the water. The maintenance worker found her body while checking the water tanks. The Los Angeles Fire Department had to drain the tank and cut it open from the side to take out the body.
The outlet stated that Heavy reported on Elisa Lam’s autopsy report, which suggested she died due to accidental drowning. Officials listed her bipolar disorder as a contributing factor. In addition, the report mentioned that she had no internal or external injuries. She was also not assaulted sexually and did not have alcohol or illegal drugs in her system at the time of death.
Other sources, such as All That’s Interesting, have mentioned that the autopsy found a limited sample of Lam’s bipolar medication in her blood. Officials believed that she had not been taking her medication, which may have had psychotic effects. A theory suggests that this might have led the victim to the roof and into the water tank. In fact, her sister, Sara Lam, made a note of her paranoia, which pushed her to believe that someone was following her.
BBC reported that people believed that the video of Elisa Lam inside the elevator showed evidence of supernatural activity. To this day, there are multiple conspiracy theories about Lam’s disappearance and death from the hotel’s premises. Moreover, the Cecil Hotel holds a reputation for being home to prolific serial killers such as Ricard Ramirez. Also known as The Night Stalker, Ramirez reportedly stayed in the same establishment during his killing spree.
Elisa Lam’s autopsy report and the cause of death remain a highly debated subject to date. Her mysterious death is a popular subject for theorists and popular culture enthusiasts, who have linked Cecil Hotel‘s eerie past to the case.
