The family of a California public defender who died while celebrating his wedding anniversary in Mexico believes he was the victim of a “brutal crime,” their attorney said Tuesday.
Elliott Blair, 33, died Saturday outside his hotel room at the Las Rocas Resort and Spa in Rosarito Beach, roughly 32 miles south of San Diego, attorney David Scarsone said in a statement.
The incident happened on an outdoor walkway on the resort’s third floor, he said. Blair was found in underwear, socks and a T-shirt outside a room where he and his wife had stayed in the past, the attorney’s statement said.
Blair’s family did not hear of his death directly from local authorities; instead, they learned about what happened from a “liaison” with the local court service, the attorney’s statement said.
The contact, who was not identified in the statement, told the family that Blair died of blunt force trauma and that his case had been referred to prosecutors for a possible homicide investigation, the statement said.
Rosarito Beach Mayor Hilda Araceli Brown Figueredo did not respond to a request for comment. A spokeswoman for Las Rocas Resort said the hotel is working closely with local authorities and declined to comment further.
In a statement provided to NBC News Wednesday by the resort’s public relations firm, the Baja California attorney general said the investigation indicated Blair appeared to have fallen from the third floor shortly before 1 a.m. He had no vital signs when police and medical personnel found him, the statement said.
An autopsy showed his injuries were likely from a fall and not an act of violence, the statement said. The investigation found no evidence of violence in the room where Blair and his wife were, the statement said.
An autopsy found traces of alcohol, the release said. Scarson said Blair was not intoxicated and a toxicology report was not done.
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Scarsone did not immediately respond to a request Wednesday evening for comment on the statement.
Mexican authorities have communicated with U.S. officials, who “from day one have been given all the information so that efforts can be made through them in turn to inform and assist relatives of the deceased lawyer,” the attorney general’s statement said says.
The US State Department said it is aware of reports of the death of a citizen in Rosarito Beach, Mexico.
“We stand ready to provide all appropriate consular assistance,” the department said in a statement Wednesday. “Out of respect for the family at this difficult time, we have no further comment.
Blair’s family plans to conduct an independent investigation, hiring a private investigator and a forensic pathologist, Scarson said.
“Elliott was a brilliant attorney with a bright future,” the statement said. “Elliot’s smile was radiant and warmed the hearts of everyone he came in contact with. Eliot had an innate ability to connect with people from all walks of life.”
Orange County Public Defender Martin Schwartz told The Register that Blair has worked for the public defender’s office since 2017, the year he passed the bar exam. His wife, Kimberly, also worked for the public defender’s office, Schwartz told the newspaper.
He said Blair was a “devoted husband, a great person and a fantastic lawyer who has dedicated his life to serving his clients and helping the most vulnerable in the county”.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
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