The household of a California public defender who died whereas celebrating his wedding ceremony anniversary in Mexico believes he was the sufferer of a “brutal crime,” their lawyer stated Tuesday.
Elliot Blair, 33, died Saturday exterior his lodge room at Las Rocas Resort and Spa in Rosarito Seashore, roughly 32 miles south of San Diego, the lawyer, David Scarsone, stated in a press release.
The incident occurred in an open-air walkway on the resort’s third ground, he stated. Blair was present in his underwear and socks and a sleeping T-shirt exterior a room the place he and his spouse and had stayed up to now, the lawyer’s assertion stated.
Blair’s household has not heard about his demise straight from native authorities; as a substitute, they realized about what occurred from a “liaison” to the native coroner’s workplace, the lawyer’s assertion stated.
The liaison, who will not be recognized within the assertion, advised the household that Blair died of extreme head trauma and that his case had been forwarded to prosecutors for a doable murder investigation, the assertion stated.
Rosarito Seashore Mayor Hilda Araceli Brown Figueredo didn’t reply to a request for remark. A spokeswoman for Las Rocas Resort stated the lodge has been working intently with native authorities and declined to remark additional.
In a press release supplied Wednesday to NBC Information by the resort’s public relations agency, the legal professional normal of Baja California stated an investigation confirmed Blair appeared to have fallen from the third ground shortly earlier than 1 a.m. He had no important indicators when police and medical personnel discovered him, the assertion says.
The post-mortem confirmed his accidents have been doubtless from a fall and never an act of violence, the assertion says. An investigation discovered no proof of violence within the room the place Blair and his spouse have been staying, the assertion says.
The post-mortem discovered indicators of alcohol, the assertion says. Scarsone has stated Blair was not intoxicated and a toxicology report had not been accomplished.
Scarsone didn’t instantly reply to a request Wednesday night time for remark in regards to the assertion.
Mexican authorities had been speaking with American officers who, “from the primary day have been given all of the all info in order that, in flip, by means of them, efforts could be made to tell and help relations of the deceased lawyer,” the legal professional normal’s assertion says.
The U.S. State Division stated it was conscious of experiences of the demise of a citizen in Rosarito Seashore, Mexico.
“We stand prepared to supply all applicable consular help,” the division stated in a press release Wednesday. “Out of respect to the household throughout this troublesome time, we’ve got no additional remark.”
Blair’s household plans to hold out an unbiased investigation, hiring a personal investigator and a forensic pathologist, Scarsone stated.
“Elliot was a superb legal professional with a shiny future,” the assertion stated. “Elliot’s smile was radiant and warmed the hearts of each individual he got here involved with. Elliot had an innate skill to attach with folks from all walks of life.”
Orange County Public Defender Martin Schwarz advised The Register that Blair had labored for the general public defender’s workplace since 2017, the 12 months he handed the bar examination. His spouse, Kimberly, additionally labored for the general public defender’s workplace, Schwarz advised the newspaper.
He stated Blair was a “devoted husband, terrific individual and a unbelievable lawyer who devoted his life to serving his shoppers and serving to the county’s most weak.”
