Vigil held for Elliot Blair, Orange County public defender found dead in Mexico

Friends and family of Elliot Blair gathered in Orange on Thursday to remember their loved one who was found dead in Mexico last weekend. 

While Mexican authorities maintain that Blair, 33, died after falling from the balcony of his hotel room in Rosarito, Baja Mexico, on Jan. 14, his family believes that the Orange County-based public defender was killed while vacationing for his first wedding anniversary. 

They gathered at the Plaza Square in Old Towne Orange to pay their respects to Blair, but also to continue their determined search for answers into the truth behind his death. 

Blair's family has said that Rosarito Police Department officials and Mexican government authorities have been difficult to contact thus far.

"It's a very, very complicated system," Elliot's mother, Mary Stella Blair said. She's been in Mexico for days, continuing to fight to get her son's body transported back to the United States. 

"But today, this morning - very good results," she said, stating that his body is due to return on Monday. 

Mary Stella noted that the last time she spoke with her son was Saturday evening, when he was heading out for dinner at a family-favorite restaurant in Puerto Nuevo, where they often went to on their trips to Mexico. 

Hours later, he was found dead on a walkway at the hotel he was staying at with his wife. 

"Heaven's gained another angel," Mary Stella said. "The world needs more people like Elliot. That's sad that we lost someone that made such a difference."

Thus far, Mexican authorities claim that he fell two-stories off of his balcony and that the death was a "tragic accident." Blair's wife, who also works as a public defender in Orange County, was then told that her husband was shot in the head prior to the fall.

No one in the Blair family, nor their attorneys, believe the story. 

"The fall wasn't the cause of his death. The drinking and the fall were not the cause of his death," said Case Barnett, an attorney for the Blair family. "

They're working to obtain surveillance footage from inside of the hotel, but have been told that there is no video in the area where his fall would have occurred. 

Contrary to their reports that Blair was shot in the head, Barnett says that evidence suggests the head wound he suffered is not consistent with a gunshot wound.

While they continue to investigate, searching for much-needed answers, the Blair family will continue to remember their son for the difference he made in the world. 

Barnett says he hopes to have additional information to provide to the public by next week.