Act Daily News
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An American public defender who died this month whereas celebrating his first marriage ceremony anniversary in Mexico “was the victim of a brutal crime,” his household stated, noting a coroner’s liaison informed them the case was despatched to a neighborhood prosecutor “to conduct a possible homicide investigation.”
Elliot Blair, 33, a deputy public defender in Orange County, California, died from “severe head trauma,” the liaison stated, citing an post-mortem, in accordance with a household assertion supplied by their lawyer, David Scarsone.
Blair was discovered lifeless Saturday on the Las Rocas Resort in Rosarito Beach – a 45-mile drive south of San Diego – the place he and his spouse Kim have been staying.
The Baja California Attorney General’s Office stated the demise gave the impression to be the “result of an unfortunate accident from a fall by the now deceased from a third-story floor,” in accordance with its assertion to the Orange County Register.
The company didn’t instantly reply to Act Daily News’s request for remark. Rosarito Beach police didn’t instantly return Act Daily News’s calls.
Blair’s household has not had contact with Mexican legislation enforcement about his demise, they stated.
“The family, which has extensive legal training in criminal law, wholeheartedly believes based on their initial investigation, that Elliot was the victim of a brutal crime,” its assertion reads.
While Blair’s kin don’t provide any particular proof of a criminal offense, they dispute his demise occurred off the couple’s resort room balcony and say it occurred outdoors the room’s entrance door in an open-air walkway, in accordance with the assertion.
“Elliot was not intoxicated at the time of this incident,” the household stated, including they informed the coroner’s liaison they’ll rent a personal agency to conduct an impartial investigation, together with toxicology. The liaison had informed them a toxicology report had not been accomplished, they stated.
The household opposes cremation of Blair’s physique, they stated, noting that in conversations with a funeral house they’ve been informed a number of occasions that authorities have beneficial that course of.
A fundraiser in honor of Blair’s reminiscence has been organized by a colleague to assist Blair’s spouse with the “cumbersome process involved in transporting Elliot’s body from Mexico to the USA and dealing with all the red tape,” reads the donation web page arrange by Annie Rodriguez, to whom Act Daily News has reached out.
“We wish we could provide everyone with more information, but very limited information has been disclosed by authorities in Mexico,” it reads.
Elliot and Kim had been within the public defender’s workplace in Orange County since 2017, the web page states.
“Elliot was known for a smile on his face and a clever mind,” the location reads. “There are not enough words to express the level of love he had for Kim. Kim was his life. They just started building a life together in their first year of marriage.”
Orange County Public Defender Martin Schwarz referred Act Daily News to Scarsone.