5 Strangest & Most Mysterious Videos On The Internet

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Resolved: Elisa Lam (long, link heavy)

submitted 8 months ago * by Exceptional Poster - Bronzehammmy_sammmy

There have been some comments about the death of Elisa Lam recently, so I thought I would write up the extensive research I have done on this case. This "mystery" is resolved – the official conclusion that she had a manic episode and accidentally drowned is supported by a breadth of physical evidence as well as established medical opinion, which I have outlined in excruciating detail for your reading pleasure.

There are two main pieces of evidence to review:

The creepy-*** video of her in the elevator
The autopsy & toxicology report published by the Department of the Coroner for the City of Los Angeles

I used the Wiki as a jumping off point for my medical research, and much of the information I cite here has also been sourced in the Wiki, if you would like primary sources.

Elisa's family stated that she suffered from bipolar disorder, according to the wiki. Let's go through the list of prescription drugs she was prescribed on p.23-25 of the toxicology report linked above:

Dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine) - just 2 10mg capsules, loose
Stimulant prescribed for ADD/ADHD & narcolepsy
Lamotrigine (Lamictal) - 100 mg
Anti-convulsant and mood stabilizer prescribed for epilepsy & bipolar disorder
Quetiapine (Seroquel) - 25 mg
Atypical anti-psychotic prescribed for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder
Venlafaxine (Effexor) - 225 mg
SNRI Antidepressant prescribed for major depressive disorder, generalised anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and social phobia
Bupropion (Wellbutrin) - 300 mg
Atypical antidepressant prescribed for depression and smoking cessation

There are also two OTC medications on the list: Advil (ibuprofen, pain reliever) & Sinutab, which is essentially Sudafed (a decongestant).

The American Psychiatric Association recommends an anti-depressant in conjunction with a mood stabilizer and anti-psychotic for bipolar disorder treatment. Check, check, and check. Based on the statement from her family and her prescription list, I think it's safe to say without a reasonable doubt that Elisa suffered from bipolar disorder, which entails cycling of manic and depressive moods. Severe mania can include psychotic features, such as hallucinations, delusions, paranoia, catatonia, and lack of insight.

The first primary observable suggestion that Elisa was suffering from a manic episode is the psychomotor agitation she displays in the video, especially with her hands. Psychomotor agitation is defined as: "a series of unintentional and purposeless motions that stem from mental tension and anxiety of an individual. This includes pacing around a room, wringing one's hands, uncontrolled tongue movement, and other similar actions." Psychomotor agitation is a symptom of mania. This piece of evidence alone doesn't prove it, but it does strongly support the results of the toxicology report.

Contrary to popular belief, the toxicology results are unlikely to be affected by Elisa's prolonged stay in the water tank (she was there for 3 weeks). The toxicology report tested the blood in her heart (an internal organ), as well as liver enzymes (also an internal organ) and her bile. It takes significant blood loss (like from a wound) and/or extended decomposition (6+ weeks) to affect toxicology results taken from internal organs. Blood taken from a vein in her arm, for example, would be much more likely to be affected; but that's not the way the tests were performed. There is are tidbits on this topic buried in this article on Medscape authored by a Professor of Pathology at USC Med School, but sadly, all the more specific links I've been able to find are behind a paywall.

Let's compare the toxicology results (p. 26-27) to Elisa's medication list:

Venlafaxine (antidepressant) was present in the blood in her heart and in her liver enzymes - this suggests Elisa took this medication the day she died
Bupropion (antidepressant) metabolites were present in the blood in her heart and in her liver enzymes - this suggests Elisa took this medication recently, but not the day she died, as only the metabolites are detected and not Bupropion itself
Bupropion can sometimes cause mania in bipolar disorder.
Quetiapine (anti-psychotic) & its metabolites were not detected in any quantity in the blood from Elisa's heart - this suggests Elisa had not taken this medication recently
Lamotrigine (mood stablizer) was found in such small amounts in the blood from Elisa's heart that it's debatable it was even there ("quantity not sufficient"); however, Lamotrigine was found in trace amounts in her liver enzymes - this suggests Elisa took this medication recently, but not the day she died
Bile ethanol (alcohol) results: 0.02 g% (this is a normal amount of ethanol for bile)
Ethanol (alcohol) was not detected in any quantity in the blood from her heart - Elisa did not drink any alcoholic beverages the day she died
No obvious illegal drugs were found in Elisa's system – they tested the blood in her heart for for marijuana, cocaine, MDMA, barbiturates, opiates, and amphetamines - all came up "not detected," meaning she hadn't even taken the Dexedrine (prescription amphetamine/stimulant) recently.

To summarize:

Elisa took at least one antidepressant that day
She had taken her second antidepressant and mood stabilizer recently, but not that day
She had not taken her anti-psychotic recently
She had no alcohol or common illegal drugs in her system

There is a very strong risk of mania associated with taking antidepressants alone (not in conjunction with an antipsychotic or mood stabilizer) for bipolar disorder.

I think it's safe to say that the video combined with the toxicology report proves beyond a reasonable doubt that she was experiencing a manic episode at the time of her death, independent of any other drugs (illegal or otherwise) she may have had in her system.

Although the toxicology report did not test for date rape drugs like Rohypnol (roofies), GHB, or Ketamine, this anomaly is largely a moot point since there was no alcohol (ethanol) found in the blood taken from Elisa's heart. Mixture with alcohol is the most common way these date rape drugs are administered, according to Brown University. I honestly can't think of another way to administer such a drug without Elisa knowing, unless it was slipped into a non-alcoholic beverage. However, the wiki indicates that everyone who saw Elisa that day (hotel staff, the clerk at the book store) asserted she was alone.

Foul play theorists often complain that the police did not investigate enough, or that the police work was below par. According to the wiki, all hotel employees & the book shop keeper who saw her that day were interviewed, and all confirmed Elisa was alone. There was no crime scene (they searched her room and found nothing to indicate foul play) and no possible suspects to pursue.

To be fair, according to the wiki, the rape kit they took from Elisa was never processed – most likely because she was confirmed by eye witness accounts to be alone that night, there was no alcohol in her system, and there is such overwhelming evidence that she was manic. Unfortunately, police resources are scarce, and it makes little sense to run a rape kit on someone for whom all physical evidence points to a more obvious explanation. Although Elisa experienced anal bleeding as a result of prolapse, the autopsy report indicates that this is consistent with water decomposition and not necessarily rape.

Overall, the body of evidence does not point to someone taking advantage of or doing harm to Elisa: she was alone and she wasn't drinking.

Finally, the issue of how she accessed the water tank, got into it, and closed the heavy lid: manic people do crazy **** that often requires exerting absurd amounts of physical strength. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, a couple of the primary symptoms of mania include physical restlessness, strong desire to increase activity, and unrealistic belief in your abilities. The wiki notes that Elisa would have had access to the water tank from the fire escape. The symptoms of her mania - impulsiveness, sense of heightened abilities, hallucinations - would reasonably lead to her to climb in the tank and shut the lid. God knows what she might have been hallucinating that motivated her to climb in that tank and shut it.

Though this case is resolved, I will admit that it's very interesting and unusual – to be fair, according to the wiki, the medical examiners had classified her cause of death as “undetermined” up until three days before the autopsy report was published, when they changed it to “accidental.” While I had a lot of fun researching the whole thing, the case of Elisa Lam is not a mystery - it's a tragedy.

EDIT: I didn't want to bring this up, but I have seen a lot of posts here regarding personal experiences with mental health issues, psychiatry, bipolar disorder, etc. I just want to say that I experienced a psychotic break 5 years ago, was hospitalized three times for 6+ weeks at a time each, and was at one point diagnosed as bipolar I (misdiagnosis, turns out I'm just mildly depressed and Adderall does bad things to me). I understand mental health issues from a patient's perspective and I tried to portray the disorder as accurately as possible without delving into too much detail. I'm sorry if my portrayal has offended anyone.