CNN
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An American public defender who died this month whereas celebrating his first wedding ceremony anniversary in Mexico “was the sufferer of a brutal crime,” his household stated, noting a coroner’s liaison instructed them the case was despatched to an area prosecutor “to conduct a attainable murder investigation.”
Elliot Blair, 33, a deputy public defender in Orange County, California, died from “extreme head trauma,” the liaison stated, citing an post-mortem, in response to a household assertion supplied by their lawyer, David Scarsone.
Blair was discovered useless Saturday on the Las Rocas Resort in Rosarito Seashore – a 45-mile drive south of San Diego – the place he and his spouse Kim have been staying.
The Baja California Lawyer Normal’s Workplace stated the loss of life seemed to be the “results of an unlucky accident from a fall by the now deceased from a third-story flooring,” in response to its assertion to the Orange County Register.
The company didn’t instantly reply to CNN’s request for remark. Rosarito Seashore police didn’t instantly return CNN’s calls.
Blair’s household has not had contact with Mexican legislation enforcement about his loss of life, they stated.
“The household, which has intensive authorized coaching in felony legislation, wholeheartedly believes primarily based on their preliminary investigation, that Elliot was the sufferer of a brutal crime,” its assertion reads.
Whereas Blair’s kin don’t provide any particular proof of a criminal offense, they dispute his loss of life occurred off the couple’s resort room balcony and say it occurred exterior the room’s entrance door in an open-air walkway, in response to the assertion.
“Elliot was not intoxicated on the time of this incident,” the household stated, including they instructed the coroner’s liaison they’ll rent a personal agency to conduct an unbiased investigation, together with toxicology. The liaison had instructed 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 residence they’ve been instructed a number of instances that authorities have really helpful 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 course of concerned in transporting Elliot’s physique from Mexico to the USA and coping with all of the pink tape,” reads the donation web page arrange by Annie Rodriguez, to whom CNN has reached out.
“We want we might present everybody with extra info, however very restricted info 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 identified for a smile on his face and a intelligent thoughts,” the location reads. “There are usually not sufficient phrases to precise the extent of affection he had for Kim. Kim was his life. They simply began constructing a life collectively of their first yr of marriage.”
Orange County Public Defender Martin Schwarz referred CNN to Scarsone.
