True crime fans, if you’ve heard of the harrowing and mysterious disappearance of student Elisa Lam, then Netflix is about to bring you the findings of the case that are still questioned seven years on. The true crime documentary on Lam’s disappearance and death, will be titled Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel.
The four-episode series will provide a deep-dive into the extremely bizarre case and the viral footage of Lam’s last moments which accompanied it. The 21-year-old Canadian native arrived at downtown Los Angeles hotel, the Cecil Hotel in February 2013. Weeks after she vanished into thin air – leaving behind all of her possessions, including her wallet and ID in her hotel room – her body was found in one of the water tanks on the hotel’s roof. Although her death was officially ruled as accidental drowning, many self-appointed internet sleuths have continued to question the suspicious circumstances around her death.
The documentary will be directed and produced by true-crime veteran, Joe Berlinger, who is the man behind Netflix’s hit series; Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes.
“As a true crime documentarian, I was fascinated in 2013 when the elevator video of Elisa Lam went viral and legions of amateur detectives used the internet to try to solve the mystery of what happened to her, a 21-year-old Canadian tourist on her first trip to Los Angeles. So, when journalist Josh Dean, who is also a producer on the project, brought us his research into this case, we realised there was as an opportunity to do something different by not just telling the story of Elisa’s disappearance, but to create a series that explores a particular location’s role in encouraging or abetting crime — or the perception thereof” said Berlinger.
The Netflix documentary on the Elisa Lam case will launch on February 10.
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