The Cecil Hotel in LA is at the centre of a new Netflix series exploring the death of student Elisa Lam but notorious serial killer Richard Ramirez also stayed there.
The case surrounding Elisa’s demise is mysterious enough in itself, but viewers might not realise there’s an odd connection between this series and the figure at the centre of Night Stalker, another hit Netflix series.
What is the connection between the Cecil Hotel and Richard Ramirez?
Serial killer Richard Ramirez, the subject of Netflix’s terrifying new documentary series Night Stalker, stayed at the Cecil Hotel.
As reported by Film Daily, the Cecil Hotel – which opened in 1927 – became a haunt for drifters and drug addicts after the Great Depression turned the surrounding area into a no-go zone known as Skid Row.
Read more: Night Stalker Richard Ramirez: How serial killer’s rotting teeth led police to him
Ramirez reportedly stayed at the hotel for several weeks at the height of his killing spree.
That’s according to Chris Nichols, associate editor at Los Angeles Magazine.
As reported by NPR, he told KPCC that Night Stalker Ramirez frequently stayed at the hotel in the ’80s.
KPCC reported that room rates were as cheap as $14, and Ramirez stayed in a room on the 14th floor while continuing his campaign of terror.
The site is still open today and is located in Downtown Los Angeles.
What is Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel?
The Elisa Lam documentary series on Netflix will investigate the locations of infamous crime scenes.
The first series will centre on the Cecil Hotel, notable as the place where young Canadian student Elisa Lam stayed before her death.
Elisa was travelling when she arrived in LA on January 26, 2013 and checked in to the hotel.
Sadly, she never checked out.
The Los Angeles Police Department launched a missing persons investigation after Elisa’s parents alerted cops to her disappearance.
On February 19, a maintenance worker at the hotel found the student’s naked body in a 1,000-gallon water tank on the site’s roof.
What happened to Elisa Lam?
The main theory is that someone murdered her.
In CCTV footage, she looks behind her after getting into a lift and at one point hides.
Read more: Night Stalker on Netflix: How many did Richard Ramirez kill and what have his survivors revealed?
However, no one else appeared in the footage, which reportedly shows her last few minutes alive.
More evidence for foul play is the fact that the water tank – one of four up on the roof – was huge, and a woman as petite as Elisa might have struggled to get in by herself.
Another popular theory, however, suggests that she climbed in herself after taking hallucinogenic drugs.
– Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel arrives on Netflix on Wednesday, February 10
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