Orange County public defender dies at Mexican resort; friends call it ‘a brutal crime’

An Orange County public defender died at a beachside resort in Mexico while celebrating his one-year wedding anniversary, and friends and family were calling it the result of a “brutal crime.”

Elliot Blair, 33, of Orange, was found dead after what Mexican media said was an accidental fall early Saturday from a fourth-floor balcony of Las Rocas Resort and Spa at Rosarito Beach, 20 miles south of Tijuana.

His relatives and colleagues reject that description of his death.

In a statement on a GoFundMe campaign, the fundraisers’ organizer said Blair “was tragically killed” and “the victim of a brutal crime.”

The organizer, Annie Rodriguez, could not be reached. An attorney for Blair’s family did not return a request for comment Sunday. Nor could Mexican authorities in Rosarito be reached for information about what led to Blair’s death.

U.S. authorities were also looking into how Blair died. Congressman Lou Correa, who represents Santa Ana, where Blair worked as a deputy public offender, said his office was trying to get more information.

Police in Rosarito told a news website in Mexico, Patrulla 646 Código Rojo, that hotel staff called 911 around 1:15 a.m. after finding Blair’s body. The Baja California Attorney General’s Office reportedly was investigating.

The website in Mexico said police claimed to have found evidence that Blair was under the influence of alcohol at the time of his death. But it’s not clear what that evidence was.

Blair was at the resort with his wife, a fellow deputy public defender in Orange County, celebrating their first year of marriage when he died.

The GoFundMe page said funds raised would go toward helping Blair’s wife “with the cumbersome process involved in transporting Elliot’s body from Mexico to the USA and dealing with all the red tape,” the organizer said.

Staff writer Mona Darwish contributed to this report.