Officials in Mexico came to the conclusion that the death of a California lawyer who was on vacation to celebrate his first wedding anniversary with his wife in Mexico was due to an “unfortunate accident,” despite the fact that the deceased’s family believes he was the victim of foul play.
According to Martin Schwarz, the Orange County Public Defender, Elliot Blair, 33, an associate public defender in Orange County, passed away on Saturday in Rosarito Beach.
His family and coworkers have said that the young lawyer “was the victim of a brutal crime.”
According to the Orange County Register, the Baja California Attorney General’s Office ruled that Blair’s death appeared to be the “result of an unfortunate accident from a fall by the now deceased from a third-story floor” after an autopsy was performed.
Local authorities told Patrulla 646 Código Rojo that hotel staff found Blair’s body around 1:15 a.m. and then called the police.
According to the site, the investigators said they had found evidence that showed Blair was drunk when he died.
When John Jenks, a private investigator who had worked with Blair in the past, learned of his passing, he described the news as feeling like a “gut punch.”
“He knew the law, he was well prepared, his courtroom presentation was outstanding, down to earth, relatable, and he knew the cases inside and out,” Jenks told NBC Los Angeles.
“I don’t have the words to capture how badly I feel for his colleagues, for his wife, for his family,” he said. Jenks mourned the “good, caring and compassionate man who really played a significant role in people’s lives that he represented.”
