BajaNomad

OC public defender shot dead in Rosarito Beach

BajaTed - 1-15-2023 at 10:04 AM

OC Register is reporting it happened yesterday while he and his wife were celebrating 1st wedding anniversary

https://www.ocregister.com/2023/01/14/o-c-deputy-public-defe...

Don Pisto - 1-15-2023 at 11:33 AM

this is a bit confusing, it was reported he fell from the 4th floor of the las rocas hotel...I've seen nothing about him being shot?

mtgoat666 - 1-15-2023 at 11:35 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Don Pisto  
this is a bit confusing, it was reported he fell from the 4th floor of the las rocas hotel...I've seen nothing about him being shot?


Where is it reported he fell ?

Who said he was shot?

The article linked above simply said he was crime victim.

Nothing good ever happens in Rosarito. Bad town, high crime!

Don Pisto - 1-15-2023 at 11:55 AM

Quote: Originally posted by mtgoat666  
Quote: Originally posted by Don Pisto  
this is a bit confusing, it was reported he fell from the 4th floor of the las rocas hotel...I've seen nothing about him being shot?


Where is it reported he fell ?

Who said he was shot?

The article linked above simply said he was crime victim.

Nothing good ever happens in Rosarito. Bad town, high crime!


our old friend Charles posted this earlier, the mention of being shot is from our OP.

sorry you don't care for Rosarito (actually I could care less)
https://noticiasbc.info/2023/01/14/fallece-turista-al-caer-d...

[Edited on 1-15-2023 by Don Pisto]

willardguy - 1-15-2023 at 03:53 PM

Rosarito en la noticia is reporting he simply got drunk and slipped...just a tragic accident :(

rccali - 1-15-2023 at 10:18 PM


A go fund me page for the victim Elliot Blair cited in an article in the LA Times states that "he was the victim of a brutal crime" and that his family is working with US officials to gain more information. I would trust the LA Times much more than any police department in Mexico.

Apparently his wife is a public defender so I'm betting there will be more released publicly about this incident in the coming days.


https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-01-15/an-orang...


https://www.gofundme.com/f/remembering-elliot-blair

mtgoat666 - 1-15-2023 at 10:40 PM

Quote: Originally posted by rccali  

A go fund me page for the victim Elliot Blair cited in an article in the LA Times states that "he was the victim of a brutal crime" and that his family is working with US officials to gain more information. I would trust the LA Times much more than any police department in Mexico.

Apparently his wife is a public defender so I'm betting there will be more released publicly about this incident in the coming days.


https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-01-15/an-orang...


https://www.gofundme.com/f/remembering-elliot-blair


The news article I read said a drunk fell off a balcony.
I did not know the family was already cashing in with a go fund me in less than 24 hours after death.
I wonder if the real story is that the guy was drunk and fell off a balcony, and the family made up the crime angle to milk the go fund me angle?

bajaric - 1-16-2023 at 05:21 AM

Harsh!

Details of this incident are nothing more than rumors at this point. Seems like the wife would have known what happened unless she was not with him. So what was he doing by off himself at one o'clock in the morning?

mtgoat666 - 1-16-2023 at 06:46 AM

Sounds like he fell off the balcony. Or was pushed. Did wife push him over the edge?

From OC register:

Family and friends of the Orange County deputy public defender who died at a beachside resort in Mexico while celebrating his one-year wedding anniversary were still searching for answers on Sunday.

Elliot Blair, 33, of Orange, was found dead after what Mexican media in Rosarito Beach said was an accidental fall from a fourth-floor balcony of the Las Rocas Resort and Spa early on Saturday, Jan. 14.

But his family and colleagues reject that description of his death.

In a statement on a GoFundMe campaign for Blair’s family, the fundraisers’ organizer said Blair “was tragically killed” and “the victim of a brutal crime.”

The organizer, Annie Rodriguez, could not be reached. An attorney for Blair’s family did not return a request for comment Sunday. Nor could Mexican authorities in Rosarito be reached for information about what led to Blair’s death.

U.S. authorities were also looking into how Blair died. Congressman Lou Correa, who represents Santa Ana, where Blair worked in the Public Defender’s office, said his office was trying to get more information.

Police in Rosarito told a news website in Mexico, Patrulla 646 Código Rojo, that hotel staff called 911 around 1:15 a.m. after finding Blair’s body, which brought officers and paramedics to the hotel. The Baja California Attorney General’s Office reportedly was investigating.

The website in Mexico said police claimed to have found evidence that Blair was under the influence of alcohol at the time of his death. But it’s not clear what that evidence was.

Blair was at the resort with his wife, a fellow deputy public defender in Orange County, celebrating their first year of marriage when he died.

wilderone - 1-16-2023 at 02:41 PM

Only evidence is a body and likely that he had been drinking. Not drunk, not shot, not fallen. No observations from wife. Very strange.

Don Pisto - 1-16-2023 at 03:04 PM

it is very strange indeed, and tragic. so is this: a popular tabloid type news source called "the daily beast" ran this story with the heading "california deputy public defender SLAIN on mexico vacation" and yahoo picked up the story. as of now there's close to 3000 comments, I gave up after a few dozen that were almost entirely mexico bashing.:(

rccali - 1-16-2023 at 07:48 PM


The victim's family made a statement to a KABC 7 reporter that there was a specific injury on the forehead of Mr. Blair that would not have been caused by the fall.

He could have died from an accidental fall but I would not believe any information coming from the Rosarito Beach PD. They are as corrupt as the Tijuana police.

https://abc7.com/orange-county-public-defender-death-mexico/...

soulpatch - 1-17-2023 at 08:40 AM

That's sad, I feel for his family and friends.

As an aside, the expectation of an actual bonafide investigation is a nice thought but not likely.

BajaTed - 1-17-2023 at 09:30 AM

Yet another example how grey things can get.
My apologies on the title.

wilderone - 1-18-2023 at 08:02 AM

Getting more weird:
"Kim said the incident “did not occur off their room’s private balcony, or any balcony, for that matter,” and instead happened in an open-air walkway outside of their room’s front door.
The family also claims Elliot was not intoxicated at the time of his death and he was found wearing only his underwear, sleeping shirt and socks."
And she knows nothing?

mtgoat666 - 1-18-2023 at 08:21 AM

Quote: Originally posted by wilderone  
Getting more weird:
"Kim said the incident “did not occur off their room’s private balcony, or any balcony, for that matter,” and instead happened in an open-air walkway outside of their room’s front door.
The family also claims Elliot was not intoxicated at the time of his death and he was found wearing only his underwear, sleeping shirt and socks."
And she knows nothing?


First on the list of suspects is always the wife.

Why did the statement not explain where wife was during this supposed crime?

Why was hubby wandering outside the room in middle of night in his PJs?

The family’s statement raise more questions than answers.

willardguy - 1-18-2023 at 06:04 PM

the culprits...pigeons


https://puntonorte.info/2023/01/17/abogado-de-eu-que-murio-e...

rccali - 1-18-2023 at 07:29 PM

Update from the LA Times:


https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-01-18/american...

mtgoat666 - 1-18-2023 at 07:30 PM

Quote: Originally posted by willardguy  
the culprits...pigeons


https://puntonorte.info/2023/01/17/abogado-de-eu-que-murio-e...


Los rocas is a major resort, been there for many, many years. They have been around long enough know that building codes in Mexico, UBC, IBC, etc., have ~42” minimum rail height.
The article and pics indicate the rail is about 0.5 m.
Gross negligence on the part of the resort owner/management and architect?


[Edited on 1-19-2023 by mtgoat666]

BornFisher - 1-18-2023 at 10:17 PM

Quote: Originally posted by wilderone  
Getting more weird:
"Kim said the incident “did not occur off their room’s private balcony, or any balcony, for that matter,” and instead happened in an open-air walkway outside of their room’s front door.
The family also claims Elliot was not intoxicated at the time of his death and he was found wearing only his underwear, sleeping shirt and socks."
And she knows nothing?


Only his underwear? This is a case for Ensenada Doctor!!

mtgoat666 - 1-19-2023 at 01:36 AM

Quote: Originally posted by BornFisher  
Quote: Originally posted by wilderone  
Getting more weird:
"Kim said the incident “did not occur off their room’s private balcony, or any balcony, for that matter,” and instead happened in an open-air walkway outside of their room’s front door.
The family also claims Elliot was not intoxicated at the time of his death and he was found wearing only his underwear, sleeping shirt and socks."
And she knows nothing?


Only his underwear? This is a case for Ensenada Doctor!!


Where is elinvestig8r?

BajaTed - 1-20-2023 at 08:21 AM

Allegedly he got up from bed to shoo away noisy pigeons. Wife never realized he left room. Some one knocked on the room door to awaken her.
His body was embalmed and a toxicology test or autopsy opportunity was negated.

mccriswell - 1-20-2023 at 08:41 AM

BajaTed, that’s really interesting—those details. Where did you read that?

pacificobob - 1-20-2023 at 10:08 AM

I've not seen railings measuring less than 20 inches...

Don Pisto - 1-20-2023 at 10:52 AM

Quote: Originally posted by pacificobob  
I've not seen railings measuring less than 20 inches...


yeah not the safest but they built it that way to not obstruct the view....30 years no ones fallen off, till now.:coolup:

wilderone - 1-20-2023 at 10:54 AM

"Where did you read that?" Multiple online news sources.

Also, I read (from 4 dfferent articles) - so much conflicting information. Who's the family friend on the scene?

The New York Post reported that the Baja California attorney general's office believes Blair went to the balcony to shoo pigeons. Barnett said Williams was talking to a family friend on the scene about Blair scaring pigeons away from the balcony at some point during the vacation. He believes the attorney general's office took that to mean he was scaring pigeons at the time of his fall.

Williams fell asleep before Blair, Barnett said, and was woken by hotel staff who told he was dead. She called out for help, but the staff told her an ambulance had been at the hotel HOURS before and that police were on the way. [emphasis added]

The family said Williams was asleep at the time of the incident.

At around 1.15 am on January 14 authorities were notified that Blair fell from the balcony of Hotel Las Rocas in the town of Rosarito, just south of Tijuana and off the Tijuana-Ensenada highway.

Local news site Patrulla 646 Código Rojo reported that hotel staff notified authorities of the accident. After police arrived, paramedics showed up and declared him dead, it said.

AKgringo - 1-20-2023 at 12:00 PM

To the best of my knowledge, pigeons are not active at night.

wilderone - 1-20-2023 at 12:13 PM

Additionally:

While Blair fell two stories before hitting the ground floor, family lawyer Case Barnett said in an interview Thursday that the family isn’t sure what happened in the moments leading up to that.
Resort staff reportedly found him on the sidewalk.

"[Blair's wife Kim] runs downstairs, she sees him face down on the ground, she yells to the hotel staff to please get me an ambulance and the hotel employees say, 'The ambulance was here. The ambulance already left, he is dead. The police are on the way,'" said Case Barnett, the Blair family spokesperson.

Detectives on the scene reportedly initially told Blair's wife there was a gunshot wound to his head, but the local prosecutor's office eventually ruled his death an accidental fall.
Barnett said there was a language barrier, and Williams needed an interpreter's assistance. She called on a family friend near the area to help.

"The cop at the scene — the lead investigating officer, he's in plain clothes wearing a badge around his neck, tells Kim that there's a bullet hole in Elliot's head," Barnett said. "And that kind of starts this whole thing with the violence of it all."

mtgoat666 - 1-21-2023 at 06:19 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Don Pisto  
Quote: Originally posted by pacificobob  
I've not seen railings measuring less than 20 inches...


yeah not the safest but they built it that way to not obstruct the view....30 years no ones fallen off, till now.:coolup:


Why do you think that no one has fallen in 30 years? Perhaps several have fallen without it being reported on nomad, eh?

There are good reasons we have building codes :light::light:

wilderone - 3-10-2023 at 07:49 PM

Not going to repeat (quote) what is elsewhere online, but there is new information about this - US second autopsy indicates several blows to the head, injuries suggesting he was dragged, defensive bruise on forearm. One news story said there was blood on the bathroom door frame of their room. And that the couple was stopped in town after they left a restaurant and extorted for allegedly not stopping at a stop sign. Asked, where are you staying.

mtgoat666 - 3-10-2023 at 09:22 PM

9 out of 10 murders are committed by family, friends or acquaintances. Suspect numero uno is the wife!

tomieharder - 3-11-2023 at 12:02 AM

Maybe the poor guy tripped over a 2-peckered goat on the way to the bathroom and had to defend himself from being sodomized. Sound plausible, Coop?

bajatrailrider - 3-11-2023 at 12:21 PM

:bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce: Yes all know who that is

allanbartlett - 3-27-2023 at 03:41 PM

Sounds like a Dateline episode in the making.