Rosarito (Mexico) police shook down Orange County, CA, lawyer Elliot Blair (a California public defender) shortly before his death - which an updated autopsy shows did not come from fall from the 4th floor (as Mexican police previously surmised) but rather 40 fractures to back of his skull.

Blair’s family wants the alleged extortion investigated as part of the official probe into his death

"Rosarito police extorted money from Orange County lawyer Elliot Blair and his wife less than two hours before his mysterious death at a Mexican beach resort, but the couple did not have the amount initially demanded by the officer, a source close to the family said Wednesday, Feb. 8.

"According to the source, Blair was stopped by two police officers about 1 1/2 to 2 hours before his death for rolling through a stop sign while driving back from Splash restaurant to their hotel. The couple did not have the unidentified sum demanded by police, but gave $160 and were let go. They also were asked where they were staying.

The source said the family wants the alleged shakedown investigated – and potentially excluded – as an explanation for Blair’s fall Jan. 14 from the third story at the Las Rocas Resort and Spa in Rosarito Beach. Blair was found about 12:50 a.m., dressed in underwear, socks and a T-shirt beneath the open-air walkway.

Mexican authorities have concluded Blair had alcohol in his system and his death was an “unfortunate accident,” a simple fall. Blair’s wife, Kimberly Williams, and family insist the 33-year-old deputy public defender from Orange was the victim of a “brutal crime.” Williams is not considered a suspect.

Mexican authorities reported that an autopsy found no signs of violence, no gunshot or knife wounds. But a private autopsy for the family has been performed and the results are pending. The family also has retained a private investigator to probe the death.

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Update: Mexican autopsy shows injuries to dead OC lawyer did not come from a fall, family says.

https://www.ocregister.com/2023/02/09/mexican-autopsy-shows-injuries-to-dead-oc-lawyer-did-not-come-from-a-fall-family-says/

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Blair and Williams, also a deputy public defender, were at the beach resort to celebrate their first wedding anniversary.

Fueling the family’s suspicions of foul play are various actions and statements by Mexican police and the Baja California Attorney General’s Office.

Authorities said Blair’s wife told police he left his hotel room on the night of his death to shoo away noisy pigeons. His family disputes the pigeon story, saying Williams had instead remarked to investigators that Blair commented during the day about pigeons in the hallway ceiling.

Additionally, the lead police investigator at the scene of Blair’s death told Williams that he was shot in the head. The autopsy concluded Blair died of a “traumatic brain injury.”

Also, Mexican police repeatedly encouraged the family to cremate Blair’s remains. Case Barnett, the attorney for Blair’s family, said they also were told his body was embalmed at the behest of Mexican prosecutors, not allowing blood to be drawn for an independent toxicology report.

On the night he died, Blair feasted on lobster, danced with his wife to the music of Earth, Wind and Fire at a local restaurant and enjoyed karaoke at the hotel bar, before retiring to their room close to midnight. Barnett said Blair took a shower while Williams went to sleep.

She later was awakened by two hotel employees, asking if the man beneath the walkway “was her boyfriend,” Barnett said."

https://www.ocregister.com/2023/02/08/rosarito-police-shook-down-oc-lawyer-elliot-blair-shortly-before-his-death-source-says/

>>18321484

Mexican autopsy shows injuries to dead OC lawyer did not come from a fall, family says

Tony Saavedra, Feb 10, 2023

"A Mexican autopsy revealed Orange County lawyer Elliot Blair suffered injuries suggestinghe had possibly been dragged, conflicting with the official conclusion that he died in a drunken fall from a third-story hotel walkway, his family said Thursday, Feb. 9.

The official autopsy report and photos, obtained by Blair’s family, showed scrapes or floor burns on his knees that are inconsistent with a simple fall, according to the family’s attorney, Case Barnett. Bruising on Blair’s left forearm could have been defensive wounds, Barnett added.

The official cause of death in Mexico was “traumatic brain injury.”

The autopsy file has been reviewed by the family’s expert, Dr. Rami Hashish, a Santa Monica-based specialist in body performance and injury who advised Barnett. Results of a private autopsy by an Anaheim doctor are pending, although the family was told that the independent report will show Blair had 40 fractures to the back of his skull, Barnett said.

The new revelations are fueling the family’s belief that the 33-year-old deputy public defender was murdered Jan. 14 outside his room at the Las Rocas Resort and Spa in Rosarito Beach. Blair had a blood alcohol level of 0.10, above California’s 0.08 limit for driving, according to a copy of the Mexican autopsy obtained by the Southern California News Group. Mexican authorities said he was in the hotel hallway in his underclothes late at night apparently shooing noisy pigeons.

Blair’s wife, Kimberly Williams — also a deputy public defender — said …

“A fall does not make sense… Elliot being drunk and chasing pigeons does not make sense.” She estimated Blair had five or six drinks over a six-hour period that day.

“I’ve never seen him stumble drunk. … I’ve never seen him not be able to take care of himself,” she said. “We weren’t down there to party. We were there to celebrate our (first) anniversary. Drinking wasn’t a priority.”

She added: “He was meticulous. Everything he did, he put his whole heart and soul into it.”

Police at the scene had initially told Williams there was a bullet hole in Blair’s head, but later recanted after the autopsy there. The investigation originally was opened as an “aggravated homicide.”

On Wednesday, the Southern California News Group first reported that two Rosarito police officers extorted the couple for money during a traffic stop less than two hours before Blair’s body was found about 12:50 a.m.

Williams said police pulled over their 2009 Chevrolet Silverado truck for allegedly rolling through a stop sign.

Counseled by Blair not to engage with Mexican police, Williams remembered staring at the dashboard while her husband negotiated with officers. They wanted more money than the couple had in their wallets. Blair and Williams showed police their identification cards as members of the Orange County Public Defender’s Office

Blair, who spoke fluent Spanish, told officers, “We’re attorneys. We’re not down here being reckless. We’re not going to be taken advantage of,” Williams said.

She said Blair told officers where they were staying, offered to go to the police station, pay with a credit card and get a receipt. The officers declined and accepted all the cash the couple had, $160.

“We were driving away and it was shock, thank God they didn’t do something more to us,” Williams said.

The family isn’t accusing Rosarito police of involvement in Blair’s death, but wants the shakedown investigated like any other fact in the case, Barnett said.

…"

https://www.ocregister.com/2023/02/09/mexican-autopsy-shows-injuries-to-dead-oc-lawyer-did-not-come-from-a-fall-family-says/