California lawyer found dead in Mexico was ‘beaten by more than one person,’ lawyer says

An attorney for the family of the California attorney found dead on vacation in Mexico said he was likely assaulted by more than one person and possibly “beaten and dragged” before his death.

Case Barnett, a lawyer for Elliot Blair’s grieving widow, told the New York Post that the condition of Blair’s body painted an “obvious” picture to “experts” that “foul play” was involved in the death of the young.

Either he fell to his knees for some reason or he was beaten and dragged. One of our experts told us that it’s likely more than one man did this if you look at the damage to Elliot’s head,” he said.

He added that a dark mark on the victim’s left arm may be evidence that she tried to defend herself during an altercation.

The 33-year-old lawyer’s cause of death remains a mystery nearly a month after he died on January 14 at Las Rocas Resort and Spa in Rosarito Beach, just south of Tijuana, Mexico, where he was vacationing with his wife. to celebrate their first wedding anniversary.

Kim Williams, Blair’s widow, earlier said that earlier in the evening, she and Elliot had been extorted by local police at a traffic stop.

She said that after the couple left Splash Baja restaurant and bar around 7 p.m., two police officers in a pickup truck pulled them over for failing to come to a complete stop at an intersection.

‘The officer asked us where we were staying and what we were doing in Rosarito.

Elliot told him we were on vacation. He asked us for cash again. At that point, Elliot pulled out his Orange County Public Defender badge,” he said.

‘Elliot looked at him sternly and said, ‘Look, we’re lawyers and we’re not going to play these games. We will do this the right way. Take us to the station, I will pay by card and you will give me a receipt, ”he added.

The officers continued to demand cash and eventually accepted the $160 that was in the couples’ wallets.

“We thought, ‘Thank God they didn’t kick us out of the car,’ and they didn’t do anything else. All of that interaction took about 10 minutes.

Various injuries to Blair’s body led US officials to believe he was assassinated.

The black mark on the deceased’s left arm could be evidence, experts say, that he fought off some kind of attack.

Las Rocas Resort and Spa in Rosarito Beach, where Blair’s body was found on the hotel’s main walkway below the couple’s room.

Blair and Williams were seen dancing hours before the former was found dead on the resort’s walkway.

The happy couple is pictured on their wedding day in January 2022.

The couple returned to their hotel room around 11:45 p.m., where Williams fell asleep and was woken two hours later by hotel staff who informed her that her husband was dead, face down on the walkway of the complex.

Biomechanics and injury expert Dr. Rami Hashish, who was hired by Blair’s family to assess the case, said he believes the pattern of injuries is “relatively clear.

“[s] they just don’t add up to each other.’

There are bruise marks on the body. There are indications that it might have been dragged along the front of the body.

There are fractures in the back of the skull. Nothing really points to the fact that it was necessarily an accident,’ he said during a Good Morning America appearance.

Forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden also reviewed Blair’s autopsy report that had been prepared by Mexican authorities and concluded that Blair’s death was a case of ‘aggravated homicide’.

“Based on the materials, it is my opinion that Elliot Blair died of multiple blunt force injuries and was killed after returning to the hotel,” he told the outlet. Mail.

Mexican authorities continue to assert that death was an accidental fall from a second-story balcony.

The family is hopeful that a second private autopsy will provide more clues as to how Blair died and why he may have been killed. However, they have not yet received any type of report from the Mexican authorities.

Williams tearfully said: “We’re struggling to understand who would do this.” We’re trying to see what the police have done because none of this makes any sense.

Family and colleagues wrote in a GoFundMe page for Blair was ‘tragically murdered’ and died due to a ‘brutal crime’.

In a brief statement, Mexican authorities said they are investigating his death and are in contact with US authorities through the US Department of Justice and the FBI, which is in turn passing information to Blair’s family.