http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rfLSVIA0L0

This week we are going to be talking about Elisa Lam –– a case that has fascinated me for years.  You might remember seeing a video of a girl in a sweatshirt, acting strangely in an elevator around 2013-2016; today we will be getting to the bottom of the mystery behind her death.

Twenty-two-year-old Elisa Lam set out to travel the West Coast of the US, leaving behind her parents and sister at her Canadian home.  Expected to check out of her hotel in Los Angeles on February 1st, Elisa’s parents didn’t receive their typical check in from Elisa and notified police in LA.  Elisa had been seen earlier that day at a bookstore purchasing gifts to take home, but returned to her hotel room alone and had not been seen since.  Police searched the hotel with canines, however, no real evidence of Elisa was found (outside her room) and police were forced to move on.  When looking at security footage in the hotel, the last spotting of Elisa occurred in one of the elevators.  She was acting extremely strangely –– peaking outside of the unclosing doors, making strange arm movements.  She can be seen leaving the elevator, with no other evidence to be found.

After the public reveal of the case and elevator video by investigators, the following weeks were swarmed with theories of what happened to Elisa.  Was it foul play?  Was Elisa a victim of a serial killer?  Did Elisa kill herself?  Did she run away?  Are the police or the hotel covering up her death?  Had Elisa been drugged?

Eventually, on February 19th, 2013, after complaints from other hotel guests about “foul tasting and discolored” water, a hotel working went up to the roof-top water tanks.  When looking inside, Elisa’s pale-white, naked body was found floating on the surface.  After autopsy reports returned, there were no indications of foul play and injuries were consistent with a drowning.  There were also no strange drugs in her system.  Theories once again swarmed, with police and the public trying to figure out how Elisa’s body entered the tank, what happened to her before her death, who else was involved, and what she was doing in the elevator.

Let’s talk about Elisa for a second.  Elisa was diagnosed with both depression and bipolar disorder.  She was widely medicated for both.  In the past, when Elisa had stopped taking her medications, she was known to experience delusions, hallucinations, irrational thinking/behaviors, etc.  The toxicology report indicated that Elisa was under-taking her medication (which matched with what police found in her room).

Officially, Elisa’s death was ruled an accidental drowning –– meaning that no one else was involved and it was simply an accident.  Elisa was likely experiencing the side effects of not taking her medication (explaining how she was acting in the elevator video), and she made her way into the tank herself.  She likely became trapped and drowned.  All evidence points to this being the truth behind Elisa Lam.

I find this case super interesting (outside of its genuine bizarreness) due to the psychological component and how the psychopathologies Elisa had eventually led to her death.  I really encourage you all to research more about this case and the conspiracy theories around it, as they are super interesting!