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California public defender died in ‘brutal crime’ during Mexico anniversary trip, family says
The household of a California public defender who died whereas celebrating his marriage 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 prior to now, the lawyer’s assertion stated.
Blair’s household has not heard about his loss of life immediately from native authorities; as an alternative, they realized about what occurred from a “liaison” to the native coroner’s workplace, the lawyer’s assertion stated.
The liaison, who just isn’t recognized within the assertion, informed 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 offered Wednesday to NBC Information by the resort’s public relations agency, the lawyer 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 had been seemingly 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 had 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 evening 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 data in order that, in flip, by way of them, efforts will be made to tell and help family of the deceased lawyer,” the lawyer normal’s assertion says.
The U.S. State Division stated it was conscious of stories of the loss of life of a citizen in Rosarito Seashore, Mexico.
“We stand prepared to offer all acceptable consular help,” the division stated in a press release Wednesday. “Out of respect to the household throughout this troublesome time, we now have no additional remark.”
Blair’s household plans to hold out an impartial investigation, hiring a personal investigator and a forensic pathologist, Scarsone stated.
“Elliot was an excellent lawyer with a vibrant future,” the assertion stated. “Elliot’s smile was radiant and warmed the hearts of each particular person he got here in touch with. Elliot had an innate skill to attach with individuals from all walks of life.”
Orange County Public Defender Martin Schwarz informed The Register that Blair had labored for the general public defender’s workplace since 2017, the yr he handed the bar examination. His spouse, Kimberly, additionally labored for the general public defender’s workplace, Schwarz informed the newspaper.
He stated Blair was a “devoted husband, terrific particular person and a unbelievable lawyer who devoted his life to serving his shoppers and serving to the county’s most susceptible.”
This text was initially printed on NBCNews.com