The family of Orange County, California, lawyer Elliot Blair has disputed reports from Mexican authorities that he was shooing away noisy pigeons outside his Rosarito Beach hotel room just before he died in a fall early Saturday.
Baja California Attorney General Ricardo Ivan Carpio Sanchez called Blair’s fall from an open-air hallway at Las Rocas Resort and Spa “a terrible case.” He said Blair’s wife, Kimberly Williams, told authorities that Blair was drawn outside their third-floor room by the noisy pigeons.
Blair’s family immediately blasted the report, insisting he was killed in a brutal crime when he went outside in a T-shirt, underwear and socks.
“It is categorically false that Kim ever stated that Elliot exited their room that night to scare away pigeons or in response to any noise,” said a statement from the family Wednesday. “Kim was asleep at the time this incident occurred.”
In an earlier statement, the family said that Mexican authorities, through intermediaries, repeatedly suggested they cremate Blair, which they resisted so they could obtain an independent autopsy.
Blair, 33, of Orange, and his wife were in Rosarito Beach to celebrate their first wedding anniversary. Both are Orange County deputy public defenders.
On Wednesday, Carpio Sanchez said that on the night of Blair’s death, he and his wife were at the hotel bar, had some drinks, then retired to their room.
As they were getting ready to go to sleep, “he thought there was too much noise in the exterior and he tells his wife he’s going to go out to try scare away” some pigeons or other birds, said Carpio Sanchez, surrounded by reporters following an unrelated press conference in Mexicali.
Sometime after midnight, police were notified about a death at the hotel. At first, police considered it to be a possible crime, Carpio Sanchez said. The case was given “its due treatment, considering every possibility of whatever could have occurred previously,” he said in Spanish.
Blair’s wife was asleep when someone knocked on her door to let her know what happened, he said.
Authorities interviewed several individuals, including Williams, checked the room and found no evidence of violence, Carpio Sanchez said.
An autopsy conducted Saturday by the Forensic Medical Service in Baja California concluded Blair died of a traumatic brain injury. There were no signs of violence or wounds caused by a firearm or a sharp weapon, the attorney general continued. Instead, he said, “This traumatic brain injury could have been caused by a free fall from a third story.”
On Tuesday evening, Blair’s family issued a statement complaining that Mexican authorities had not talked directly with them about his death, prompting complaints from Orange County Rep. Lou Correa.
Expressing “deep concerns” about Blair’s death, Correa, D-Santa Ana, sent a letter Wednesday morning to the Mexican ambassador to the United States, asking the Mexican Embassy “and all levels of the Mexican Government (federal, state, and local) to assist the Blair family and U.S. officials in the investigation of Elliot’s death.”
“Elliot was a very valuable member of our community. Consequently, his death and the circumstances surrounding it, are creating more questions than answers in Orange County, California,” Correa wrote Ambassador Esteban Moctezuma in Washington, D.C.
Correa noted that while Mexican authorities have said they are investigating Blair’s death and are in contact with the U.S. Justice Department and the FBI, the Blair family has not been directly contacted by the Mexican government. As of Wednesday, Blair’s family was filing the necessary paperwork to bring his remains back to California.
“As of this morning, it’s preliminary, the family was in the process of obtaining possession of the body for transport back to the U.S.,” Correa said in an interview.
Calling Blair’s death “a very odd situation,” Correa said it’s important to find out what happened “and bring closure to the family.”
“We need to make sure we get to the bottom of this,” he said, not only for the family but for other American tourists who frequent the resort.
“This is a popular place for American tourists,” Correa said. “We want to make sure we know what happened.”
A GoFundMe site organized to help with the red tape and transportation of Blair’s body had raised $109,475 by Wednesday afternoon.
