The Cecil Hotel
The Cecil Hotel is located in downtown LA and was opened in 1924. It closed in 2017 for renovations, which were stopped because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This specific hotel has been known for many suicides, murder cases and paranormal activity. Elisa Lam’s case was the most known out of all since it got a lot of attention on social media, which then led to interest in the hotel.
Before Elisa Lam, the hotel was known for Richard Ramirez, also known as the Night Stalker. Richard Ramirez lived at the hotel during his killing spree.
These cases are the most known at the Cecil hotel but there are many other cases that took place at the hotel.
Deaths at the hotel
Elisa Lam was found inside the hotel’s rooftop water tank after people complained about the funny taste in the water that residents were using. Many people say it was an accidental drowning because before her death she was acting unusual, as shown in this video of Elisa in an elevator: Elisa Lam Video.
As seen in the video she was acting strange, which is why some people came to the conclusion that she was on a specific drug. Others believed was something paranormal was getting to her head.
The coroner’s official ruling on her cause of death was accidental drowning, with bi-polar disorder as a contributing factor. She had not been taking her prescribed medication and, during a mental breakdown, likely climbed onto the roof and into the tank, unaware she wouldn’t be able to get back out.
Many of the deaths over the years at the hotel were due to people committing suicide or getting thrown out a window.
A partial list of names of people that passed at the hotel under suspicious circumstances: Grace E. Margo, Roy Thompson, Robert Smith, Helen Gurnee, Julia Frances Moore, Pauline Otton George Gianinni, Alison Lowell and an unknown person.
An example case: Dorthy Jean Purcell threw her newborn out of the window because she didn’t know she was pregnant and thought the baby was dead.
Deadly residents
Richard Ramirez was an American serial killer. Richard would stay in the Cecil Hotel for weeks stalking people in the hotel. At the hotel he was known as the “Night Stalker.”
During his stay at the hotel, it was said that he killed more than 13 people, including residents and workers at the hotel. Real Los Angeles Tours mentions how he was a devil worshipping thief, rapist and killer. He broke into many homes and attacked people as they slept. On August 31, 1985, Richard Ramirez was beaten by nearby residents due to them realizing it was him. The police then arrived to capture him.
Another that was similar to Richard Ramirez was Johann Unterweger. Johann stayed at the hotel due to it being associated with Richard Ramirez.
Similar to Richard Ramirez, Johann’s victims were mainly women around the hotel. Sources say that he strangled his victims with their own undergarments. He was able to carry his victims out of the hotel with no one noticing. His three victims were Shannon Exley, Irene Rodriguez and Peggy Booth.
Before his crimes in Los Angeles, he was convicted of murder in Austria but he was released many years later due to a public campaign to free him. While he was freed he went on a killing spree and murdered eight young women in Austria prior to coming to the United States. He committed suicide on June 29th, 1994 in Miami while in police custody.
Sources:
https://www.thereallosangelestours.com/crime-seen-the-hotel-cecil/
