Mystery surrounds death of public defender celebrating anniversary at mexican resort

Mystery surrounds death of public defender celebrating anniversary at mexican resort

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Family and friends of Elliot Blair, a beloved California public defender, are searching for answers after the man's untimely death while vacationing in Mexico over the weekend. Blair,


33, died in the early morning hours of Jan. 14 — his one-year-wedding anniversary — at the luxury Las Rocas Resort and Spa in the coastal city of Rosarito, Mexico. He was there to celebrate


his anniversary with his wife Kim Williams. Mexican officials said Blair drunkenly fell from a balcony at the hotel, KTLA reports. After conducting an autopsy, the Baja California Attorney


General's Office concluded 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," the _Orange


County Register_ reports. However, a GoFundMe page launched to raise money for Blair's widow claims, "Very limited information has been disclosed by authorities in Mexico,"


and alleges that Blair had actually been "the victim of a brutal crime." "We have reasons to believe, and evidence, that there was possible foul play," a member of Kim


Williams' family told ABC7, noting that they had hired a private investigator to look into the death. Martin Schwarz, a colleague of Blair's from the Orange County Public


Defender's Office, told the _Orange County Register_ that he was working with officials to obtain more information about the incident. "We have been in communication with the


family and are doing what we can to support them in this difficult time, including working with local and federal officials to help provide them with answers," Schwartz told the


newspaper. An attorney for Blair's family also told the paper that the family is "pushing back" on the accidental-death conclusion by Mexican authorities. _WANT TO KEEP UP


WITH THE LATEST CRIME COVERAGE? SIGN UP FOR_ PEOPLE'_S FREE TRUE CRIME NEWSLETTER__ FOR BREAKING CRIME NEWS, ONGOING TRIAL COVERAGE AND DETAILS OF INTRIGUING UNSOLVED CASES._ Schwartz


told ABC7 that Blair would be remembered as a "devoted husband, terrific person and a fantastic lawyer who dedicated his life to serving his clients and helping the county's most


vulnerable." Blair and his wife, Kim, were public defenders in Orange County since 2017, per the GoFundMe, which describes Elliot as a "compassionate lawyer who dedicated his life


to serving indigent clients." "He was the best of us and was loved by countless members of our office and the Orange County legal community. We are heartbroken," the


fundraising page reads.