Mysterious death of UBC student Elisa Lam the focus of new Netflix docuseries

This undated image released by the Los Angeles Police Department shows Elisa Lam of Vancouver. Lam, 21, had been reported missing since Jan. 31, 2013. On Feb. 19, 2013, her body was found in a water tank on top of the Cecil Hotel in L.A. PHOTO BY SUBMITTED /LAPD

 The mysterious death of Vancouver woman Elisa Lam is the subject of a new Netflix series.

Lam, a 21-year-old UBC student visiting Los Angeles, went missing in January 2013. Her body was discovered a month later, in a water cistern atop the Cecil Hotel. ‘Crime Scene: The Vanishing at The Cecil Hotel’, set to premiere on the streaming platform next month, is a close look at the Lam’s mysterious disappearance, and the downtown L.A. hotel where it happened.

The search for Lam made international headlines after the LAPD released video footage from the hotel’s elevator, showing Lam acting strangely. Lam can be seen pressing all the elevator’s buttons. She steps in and out of it. She peeks out from the doors. It was eerie, and suspicious.

Police ultimately ruled Lam’s death accidental.

A worker stands on a water tank on the roof of the Hotel Cecil in Los Angeles California February 20, 2013. PHOTO BY ROBYN BECK /AFP/Getty Images

But the case and its unexplained details remain surrounded by ghost stories and mystery. Online conspiracy theories abound, especially as the hotel has a history of violence. Rumoured as the residence of more than one serial killer, its list of deaths is lengthy, and there is even a connection to the notorious Black Dahlia case.

One imagines all of this will come up in the four-episode, first season of Crime Scene, a docuseries that “deconstructs the mythology and mystery surrounding infamous locations in contemporary crime,” according to Netflix.

The exterior of the Cecil Hotel is seen in Los Angeles California February 20, 2013. PHOTO BY ROBYN BECK /AFP/Getty Images

Crime Scene features interviews with investigators, other guests and hotel employees, Variety has reported. It premieres on Feb. 10.

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This article first appeared on Vancouver Sun.

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