Elisa Lam

Elisa Lam

Elisa Lam (蓝可儿), the 21-year-old Chinese Canadian undergraduate from the University of British Colombia, was found dead inside the rooftop water tank of the Cecil Hotel in downtown Los Angeles on Feb. 19, 2013. At the time of her death she was on a holiday trip to California.

Four months later, her death was ruled an accidental drowning as police suspected her bipolar personality disorder had contributed to the tragic event.

Nevertheless, skeptics have questioned the official ruling. How could Lam have climbed up the water tank without being noticed by the hotel staff; how did she even get up there since access to the rooftop is restricted?

Lam was last seen on the hotel’s elevator surveillance camera footage behaving in an odd manner, which sparked much speculation and led many to spin conspiracy theories.

In the video, Lam was seen getting in and out of the elevator several times, pressing all floor buttons, yet the elevator door did not close. At one point, Lam was seen getting into the elevator and standing in the corner as if to hide from someone.

A little later on, the footage shows Lam standing outside the elevator for about 30 seconds, after which she went back inside, holding her head, and again pressed multiple buttons. The elevator did not move and she subsequently exited, facing the right and making strange hand gestures; 15 seconds later, she left the surveillance scope.

On Feb. 7, one friend of Lam’s posted a postcard online, sent to her by Lam from Los Angeles. The card has several strange words and sentences on it such as “it is creeping me,” “Ryan Gosling” and “pilgrimage.” Several of Lam’s friends stated they had never found her to be mentally unstable; moreover, they considered her to be amiable and outgoing.

Lam’s funeral was held on March 9.

The Cecil Hotel is known for its cheap accommodation and some of its notorious guests, including Richard Ramirez, who died of cancer while on death row for murdering 13 in the 1980s, and a woman who jumped out of the window, killing both herself and a pedestrian in 1962.