8/11/2023 0 Comments Eliza lam![]() I was asked in 2019 to work on this production. The documentary is devoid of any local connections in Vancouver, with many declining to participate in its production. We learn only at the end why the Lam family wanted their privacy and to grieve on their own terms without meddling into their lives and the vulnerabilities of their deceased daughter. The documentary keeps us in suspense throughout with a chilling narrative and flashbacks of gruesome deaths at the hotel, constantly reminding us of the possibility that Lam’s death was connected to the curse of the building. We learn a great deal more about the history of the Cecil Hotel, the puzzling deaths and suicides that occurred, and the psychopaths who found a home there. The narrative is compelling, but many parts felt contrived, such as the scene that morbidly pans to an anonymous hand caressing Lam’s name marker as if wiping away the tears of a trembling spirit whose case was finally solved on Netflix. Elisa Lam’s death was exploited, the vast conspiracy theories that made no sense were dissected over four episodes. I stared into the ceiling after watching the entire series. Lam’s death became a sensationalized industry unto its own. The Cecil became a sort of shrine where pilgrimages continued throughout the decade. A legion of amateur detectives, or “web sleuths” continued the search for hints, forming a tight community that kept the narrative strong on internet forums and YouTube channels. Media from across the world centred on this hotel not far from Los Angeles’ skid row for a while but eventually moved on with their lives as the story faded over time. Toxicology reports showed no substances in her body that could indicate she was high on drugs. There were no signs of struggle nor scratch marks on her body. The LAPD found her naked and floating in the water with the latch to the tank supposedly locked from the outside. There was no explanation for how a young female could end up inside a water tank on the rooftop of a fourteen-floor building. When news broke about Lam’s horrifying death, there was no doubt in my mind that there was something supernatural about the case. How could she possibly get up to the roof on her own? Was she murdered? Or was she possessed? Was the hotel haunted? When Lam went missing in 2013, the whole world was in anticipation as to what happened to the young student only to find out nineteen days later that her body was found dead in a water tank at the rooftop of the hotel, with the lid closed. One can only imagine the pain the parents endured learning the loss of their daughter. The cafe symbolized the Asian Canadian story: parents who immigrated from Asia who sacrificed long hours in their cafe to give a better life for their children, who would go onto university to achieve professional careers that the parents could never have themselves. My friend Jim Wong-Chu loved the food and even held his retirement dinner there he’d always got the same type of burger for its fresh paddy meat. It was the typical Chinese Canadian cafe, serving hamburgers and french fries alongside chow mein and sweet and sour. Her death hit close to home for me as I frequented the restaurant run by her family. Just like many who witnessed the haunting video of Elisa Lam frantically pressing the buttons wanting to escape but trapped for minutes only to gesture to the thin air as if a person is there, and then disappearing altogether from view, I watched the video numerous times during those few weeks in 2013, hunched over my computer screen with sweaty palms and rewinding endlessly the footage for clues. Through detective work, and with some assistance from internet forums, retired police detectives, coroners, and a forensic neuropsychologist, the Netflix documentary series, Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel, helps us find some closure to the saga. The mysterious death of Elisa Lam has been solved according to a documentary that was released in 2021.
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