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I'm not so quick to jump to paranormal explanations on things like this, but I'm curious what you all think, is it possible that an evil force was at work here?
I'll post some links in case you are not familiar with it, but I'll give the short version here:
A young woman from Canada was staying at The Cecil Hotel, near death row, in Los Angeles.
The Cecil has a very dark history.
She went missing on her last day, and after about 2 weeks of searching she was found after guests were complaining about water shortage in their rooms. The hotel checked on the water pumps which were at the top of the building (through locked doors, with alarms set up) and found the young woman's dead, naked, body at the bottom of one of them. (to my knowledge they never found her clothes...though I could be wrong on that)
In the investigation they found security footage from the elevator that shows her acting extremely strange, she was pushing a lot of buttons, though the doors never closed, she was hopping on and off the elevator, she was seemingly talking to someone who either was off camera or wasn't there, and she began making very strange motions with her hands. After she left heading down the hallway the elevator doors closed and opened several times. This was presumably the last anyone saw of her.
No drugs were found, nor suspected, no signs of abuse of any sort that would lead to the idea of murder (in fact her death has been ruled accidental). She was bi-polar though.
It would seem to be easy to call this a suicide, however a few things about that don't add up. #1, the Cecil is a huge building, many have committed suicide there and could be done by simply jumping from one of the high rooms. #2, how would she have gotten up to the water tank? Again, the doors were locked and there was an alarm. #3, in order for the responders to get her body out of the tank they had to cut into it.
I've found this topic discussed on the True Crime board, but haven't seen it brought up here. The authorities seem to believe no crime was committed, and suicide really doesn't seem plausible (I mean even if she wanted to kill herself that way, who thinks to go to the top of the building and drown themselves in the water tanks?) So what other explanations are there?
If you ask me, I'd suspect she was mentally ill, had an episode and got herself killed accidentally. Really nasty to think the hotel patrons were using/drinking corpse water for several days though.
Thanks for the responses, everyone. This is definitely a disturbing & puzzling case.
I appreciate all of the info. about EL, and do admit it's possible she got in the water tower by herself if the water tank was not locked. The hotel should have kept it locked, if for no other reason than security.
However, I'm still thinking along the lines of the 2nd/3rd person theory as the explanation. The hotel is in a sketchy/seedy part of L.A., with a lot of transients, etc. Though I've never been to that part of L.A., I have been to Hollywood - which was definitely "colorful", for lack of a better word.
I'd still like to know if there was anyone outside that elevator during the video. EL was acting disoriented/disturbed, but that may have been soley due to meds/drugs she was taking, and/or mental illness. It definitely looked like she was trying to hide from someone at some point, but no one ever showed up in the hallway - maybe they knew where the camera in the elevator was, and were intentionally trying to keep out of sight?! Unless she just imagined that someone was there....I also feel the strange "jumping" she did outside the elevator was quite bizarre, but that may have been simply youthful playfulness...or drugs...
Last edited by The Big Lebowski Dude; 07-22-2015 at 12:07 PM..
Thanks for the responses, everyone. This is definitely a disturbing & puzzling case.
I appreciate all of the info. about EL, and do admit it's possible she got in the water tower by herself if the water tank was not locked. The hotel should have kept it locked, if for no other reason than security.
However, I'm still thinking along the lines of the 2nd/3rd person theory as the explanation. The hotel is in a sketchy/seedy part of L.A., with a lot of transients, etc. Though I've never been to that part of L.A., I have been to Hollywood - which was definitely "colorful", for lack of a better word.
I'd still like to know if there was anyone outside that elevator during the video. EL was acting disoriented/disturbed, but that may have been soley due to meds/drugs she was taking, and/or mental illness. It definitely looked like she was trying to hide from someone at some point, but no one ever showed up in the hallway - maybe they knew where the camera in the elevator was, and were intentionally trying to keep out of sight?! Unless she just imagined that someone was there....
As I said before, there is a mirror there. She was playing in the mirror.
But it is good to know you have made theories without knowing the facts.
I think this is pretty clear mental illness, or possibly drugs. I live in NYC, and see people that appear much more mentally ill than this every day. There is a lady outside of my work - every single day, wears a short sleeve shirt (even in middle of winter) and a head scarf, walks in constant circles and speaks in a broken french language - literally all day, every day. I can't imagine seeing her behavior on a security camera and trying to explain it.
It looks like she was ill, and its anyone's guess what that lead to. If you come to gripes with that, it's as simple as coming up with one of a million reasons why the roof alarm didn't go off.
You can tell in the first five seconds of the video, something is off with her - the way she moves her arm / hand to push the button, and bends down and leans in close to the buttons.
I think this is pretty clear mental illness, or possibly drugs. I live in NYC, and see people that appear much more mentally ill than this every day. There is a lady outside of my work - every single day, wears a short sleeve shirt (even in middle of winter) and a head scarf, walks in constant circles and speaks in a broken french language - literally all day, every day. I can't imagine seeing her behavior on a security camera and trying to explain it.
It looks like she was ill, and its anyone's guess what that lead to. If you come to gripes with that, it's as simple as coming up with one of a million reasons why the roof alarm didn't go off.
You can tell in the first five seconds of the video, something is off with her - the way she moves her arm / hand to push the button, and bends down and leans in close to the buttons.
You are probably correct. Good take on this. I also live in a big city, and see a lot of mentally ill & drug addicts on regular basis. They do act strangely.
Yes, there is no proof that EL is interacting with anyone in the video, or that there's anyone else outside the elevator. At one point she looks out of the elevator quickly and then goes back in, which doesn't mean that there is anyone outside.
Also, analysis of the video is hampered by: poor picture quality, and no sound. Sure, if the video had sound & better picture quality we still may not know what was going on - but, it would have helped to see EL's facial expressions & to hear anything she may have said or anything anyone else may have said...
It looks like a case of mental illness--very tragic. When she made it to the roof, there are a hundred different scenarios that might have transpired. In a state of paranoia, she may have opened the tank to look inside. Her watch, loosened by her climb, might have fallen in the tank. She may have "reasoned" it was a good idea to try and retrieve it. She removed her clothing to keep from getting them wet. She fell into the tank or jumped in to the tank, and her clothes blew away from the top of the roof. It took awhile for her body to be found. She would be bloated, and her clothes long gone. There are many plausible possibilities.
It is too hard to say what occurred, but it is an interesting case.
Random meaningless fact...Her name backwards is mal asile...evil asylum in French.
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