The body of Orange County, California, deputy public defender Elliot Blair, who died mysteriously Jan. 14 in Mexico, crossed the border from Baja California to the United States on Monday afternoon.
A lawyer for Blair’s family said his remains were being transported to Westminster Memorial Park and Mortuary in Orange County.
The family plans to have a private autopsy conducted Wednesday in Los Angeles, hoping to disprove the conclusion of Mexican authorities that Blair, 33, died in an accidental fall from a third-story walkway at Las Rocas Resort and Spa in Rosarito Beach.
Blair and his wife, Kimberly Williams — also a deputy public defender — were at the beach resort to celebrate their first wedding anniversary.
Family members contend Blair was the victim of a “brutal crime” and have launched a Justice for Elliot Blair campaign. Hundreds of friends, family and colleagues gathered for a vigil Thursday in the city of Orange to celebrate his life and demand justice.
Fueling the family members’ suspicions are statements made to them by Mexican authorities. One investigator at the crime scene said Blair had a bullet hole in his head, which was debunked after a Mexican autopsy. Authorities in Rosarito also repeatedly encouraged Blair’s family to have his body cremated.
And family attorney Case Barnett said Blair’s body was embalmed at the behest of the “D.A.” before blood could be drawn for an independent toxicology report. The family hopes to refute statements in the Mexican media that Blair was intoxicated.
The family’s retrieval of Blair’s body ends a 16-day ordeal in which it was forced to wade through mountains of red tape to get him home.
Hours before he died, Blair and Williams celebrated together. Blair feasted on lobster, danced to an Earth, Wind and Fire song and watched karaoke in the hotel bar before heading to their room — 308 — before midnight. Blair was found dead beneath the open-air walkway after 1 a.m., dressed in his underwear, T-shirt and socks.
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