Orange County Attorney’s Body Recovered From Mexico

Elliot Blair and his wife. Courtesy of GoFundMe

The body of a California public defender who died in Mexico has been returned to a mortuary in Orange County after his mysterious death there over two weeks ago.

Elliot Blair, 33, died Jan. 14 at a resort in Rosarito Beach, where he and his wife were celebrating their first wedding anniversary.

Mexican authorities said he died after falling from a 3rd-floor balcony while intoxicated.

But his family believes, according to their attorney Case Barnett, he was the victim of a brutal crime and denies allegations he was drunk.

The family reportedly planned to have a private autopsy conducted in Los Angeles on Feb. 1.

Hundreds attend a candlelight vigil in memory of Orange County Deputy Public Defender Elliot Blair in Orange, Calif., on Jan. 26, 2023. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken as well as U.S. Rep. Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana) said they have been assisting in getting answers into his death.

“The relationships I’ve made with people south of the border, as a member of Congress and before, actually [have come] in really useful,” Correa told The Epoch Times.

Correa additionally said there should be better collaboration between the two countries.

“There’s a need to establish stronger relationships across the border,” he said. “I want to make sure the next time there’s a new Elliot Blair tragic situation, that our constituents know who to call.”

Mayor Aitken told The Epoch Times her former work as a prosecutor propelled her to help as well.

“I wanted to support the family of a lost public defender however I could, in this case by joining with others in reaching out to U.S. officials for assistance,” she said. “Now that Elliot’s remains are back home, we hope they can begin to work on next steps.”

The family has stated Blair’s death occurred in an open-air walkway outside the front door of their hotel room.

His wife Kimberly Williams—also a deputy public defender—also has said local authorities have told her multiple, conflicting versions of how her husband died, including a local crime investigator who indicated Blair had a bullet wound to his head, which Mexican authorities have denied, following an autopsy.

Hundreds attend a candlelight vigil in memory of Orange County Deputy Public Defender Elliot Blair in Orange, Calif., on Jan. 26, 2023. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

Hundreds gathered Jan. 26 to remember Blair at a candlelight vigil and a fundraiser has been created, through GoFundMe, to help pay expenses related to the family’s investigation of his death.

A memorial is also scheduled for Feb. 11 at the Christ Cathedral Arboretum in Garden Grove.