Elisa Lam - What Happened?

[OCSlacker]

Not sure if you read this but she "lost" her cell the night she was at the Speakeasy in SD. A "friend" she was with at the bar gave her his old Blackberry. In doing so, he could have easily set up that phone to track her.

It is interesting that the LAPD when asked about her cell phone replied he did not want to talk about it "very much". This is odd because the police or media have never mentioned her phone that I know of beyond this instance and this is during the Missing Persons press release on Feb 6th. That phone is vital to this case.

Snipped for space

I don't recall it ever being established when she received the blackberry and from what I read on her Tumblr, it appears that the Blackberry that was loaned to her is the phone she lost

Also, I don't remember anything about her meeting a friend at Speakeasy. Did I miss something? Any links?


http://nouvelle-nouveau.tumblr.com/post/41596157293/more-the-speakeasy-was-awesome-except-i-lost

"The Speakeasy WAS AWESOME except I lost a cellphone SIGH"

This has been tagged with #and it's not even mine #it's my friends old blackberry #that he's lending to me #and ughhh #well not lend #he doesn't want it anymore #but UGHHH #STUPID #caliblah

 

[Conductor71]

Snipped for space

I don't recall it ever being established when she received the blackberry and from what I read on her Tumblr, it appears that the Blackberry that was loaned to her is the phone she lost

Also, I don't remember anything about her meeting a friend at Speakeasy. Did I miss something? Any links?


http://nouvelle-nouveau.tumblr.com/post/41596157293/more-the-speakeasy-was-awesome-except-i-lost

"The Speakeasy WAS AWESOME except I lost a cellphone SIGH"

This has been tagged with #and it's not even mine #it's my friends old blackberry #that he's lending to me #and ughhh #well not lend #he doesn't want it anymore #but UGHHH #STUPID #caliblah

<Groan> You are right. I am fail in tag speak. :blushing: I totally missed that first tag... the one that makes all the difference; I will go back in and correct- thanks!

I am living proof that we see what we we want to see. We have so few real clues, I am now making them up. Oops.

Still, the cell phone comment by police...what is that about? It seems like it must be important to the case. Any theories?

How did she then call home each day?

 

[Peter Brendt]

Not sure if you read this but she "lost" her cell the night she was at the Speakeasy in SD. Not so sure that it was lost...she must have used a calling card with hotel phone?

It is interesting that the LAPD when asked about her cell phone replied he did not want to talk about it "very much". This is odd because the police or media have never mentioned her phone that I know of beyond this instance and this is during the Missing Persons press release on Feb 6th. That phone is vital to this case.



I think all along they have suspected homicide. This is why such little detail is being released. Interpol has been involved from the beginning and this means her disappearance is by default assigned to the LAPD Robbery and Homicide Division. A toxicology report reveals more than drugs in the system; it may be necessary to rule out drowning and to find any evidence to determine if she were dead before she was ended up in water. For example, EL, if she had been drugged, could have easily been suffocated with a pillow. There is no shortage of those in a hotel. This would really obscure the cause of death as both drowning and smothering are both essentially death by asphyxia or cutting off air supply.



Another mystery is that police searched the roof with dogs that first week very near the missing person's press release on Feb 6th. The dogs did not pick up her scent. This is highly unusual per our K-9 expert. If you haven't yet visited the K-9 thread, I suggest you read it.

There is a lot of stuff that says this case is really unusual.

I read it and I wondered, but then it's kind of always the same. Everybody tells first, the dogs should/would/could and in the end, if a body is carried and touched nothing, there is no smell trace, also not for dogs, nosebears and whatever nose-oriented animals. Because in the very basics, the sense of smelling is based on particles carried in the air coming from somewhere. Somewhere in case of a trail or way means, from sweat, maybe skin, simple pheromones and whatever smells sticking along the way a search target has made. The advantage of the dogs is, they need not so many particles because their nose is better developed and their brains are better suited for recognizing smells. But, if nothing sticks, nothing smells and if the body is then in a tank and in water, it's game over. So, I don't blame the dogs.
However, the question is interesting in another aspect, because if EL would have moved on her won feet, if she would have committed suicide or fell victim to an accident up there, something would have stuck.

 

[Peter Brendt]

<Groan> You are right. I am fail in tag speak. :blushing: I totally missed that first tag... the one that makes all the difference; I will go back in and correct- thanks!

I am living proof that we see what we we want to see. We have so few real clues, I am now making them up. Oops.

Still, the cell phone comment by police...what is that about? It seems like it must be important to the case. Any theories?

How did she then call home each day?

It means often, they didn't get a warrant and were in the process to find a judge they could convince to sign one in a second try. I don't want translates to "something is cooking and if I tell you that, you will bang your head in a wall anyway"

 

[OCSlacker]

<Groan> You are right. I am fail in tag speak. :blushing: I totally missed that first tag... the one that makes all the difference; I will go back in and correct- thanks!

I am living proof that we see what we we want to see. We have so few real clues, I am now making them up. Oops.

Still, the cell phone comment by police...what is that about? It seems like it must be important to the case. Any theories?

How did she then call home each day?

We all make mistakes, it was easy to miss quite honestly. The cell phone comment by LE was a tad strange in my opinion. Don't really know why but perhaps they were told by her parents that she was using a friends blackberry and hadn't known it went missing or her own phone was missing as well.

As far as calling home, she may have been using her friends phone because it held a US contract, it would be much less expensive than the roaming charges she would have racked up if she used her own phone. She could have picked up a burner phone or used her own (if she still had it*) to call her parents.

* read in one of the threads that she had lost her own phone before the trip to Cali. That doesn't mean she didn't get a replacement before she left though and she may have brought it with her as backup. Also, the blackberry her friend gave her could have been a pay as you go /burner phone.

 

[Conductor71]

However, the question is interesting in another aspect, because if EL would have moved on her won feet, if she would have committed suicide or fell victim to an accident up there, something would have stuck.

Bingo! This is what Oriah, the K-9 expert, has said...she must not have walked out there. However, would dogs have been thrown off if they did not take the same route as she did to the roof? or would they have picked up her trail again once on the roof?

 

[allison78ca]

Sorry haven't read all threads but. Does anyone heard any new. Info about her?


Just trying to make this world a safer place for our children.

 

[Conductor71]

We all make mistakes, it was easy to miss quite honestly. The cell phone comment by LE was a tad strange in my opinion. Don't really know why but perhaps they were told by her parents that she was using a friends blackberry and hadn't known it went missing or her own phone was missing as well.

What is really odd about it is that he was answering a very specific question about her cell phone by a reporter. The question was barely audible and unintelligible. In most cases, a speaker reiterates the question; clearly he did not want it known. My first thought was the reporter had asked a too specific question about her phone, and he didn't want to compromise its role in the investigation. Nor did he want anyone else bringing it up, so by saying "I don't want to talk very much about the phone" sends that message without tipping their hand. Even stranger then that not one journalist has run with that. Whatever happened to investigative journalism?

 

[Sillybilly]

Sorry haven't read all threads but. Does anyone heard any new. Info about her?


Just trying to make this world a safer place for our children.

Nothing new allison ... still just waiting for toxicology results and to see what LE has to say at that time (maybe end of April ??)

 

[allison78ca]

Thanks sillybilly. Ugh! Takes so long


Just trying to make this world a safer place for our children.

 

[Rougelatete]

Hi,

I just wanted to weigh in on this case as a verified mental health professional. Before I even learned that EL was previously diagnosed with Bipolar II, I had already come to the conclusion that she appeared to be suffering from a psychotic episode. The video of her in the elevator shaft shows her engaging in behavior that I immediately recognized as typical of psychosis (my primary job at this time is working with people with schizophrenia, Bipolar disorder, and other disorders which feature periods of psychosis).

EL appeared to be responding to internal stimuli (i.e. voices, command hallucinations telling her to do certain things) as well as possible visual hallucinations. The repetitive, disorganized, and agitated nature of her actions is indicative of a psychotic state -- I have seen this exact, same behavior time and again in my clients when they are suffering from psychosis.

It is possible EL was suffering from a psychotic break as a result of her Bipolar II diagnosis. It is also possible she had been misdiagnosed and a more proper fit would be Bipolar I, schizophrenia, or some other diagnosis. The fact that she was 21 years old also makes me question this, as symptoms of schizophrenia are often not apparent in women until they are in their early- to mid-20s, when they have their first true psychotic break (men tend to suffer a first psychotic break at a slightly earlier age, around 18 or so). So, I would be curious to know when she was diagnosed with Bipolar II and how she was being followed and treated, medically and psychiatrically.

So far as theories go, I find it infinitely more plausible that, in a psychotic and paranoid state, EL died as a result of misadventure than the theory that someone drugged and murdered her, dragged her dead-weight body not only to the roof of the hotel but ALSO to the top of the water tank, and then hoisted her in.

I believe EL, suffering from paranoid psychosis, made her way up onto the roof of the hotel (to hide from imaginary threats), disrobed (as a result of command hallucinations), climbed the red fixed ladder on the side of the storage room, jumped down onto the top of the water tank, and, trying to find a place to hide from her imaginary threats, climbed into the water tank, where she subsequently died.

The notion of a murderer preying on someone in a psychotic state and disposing of her body in the manner he supposedly did is ludicrous to me. There is a video showing a 6', 200lb man struggling to carry a 90lb dummy (that's 35lbs less that EL weighed) up a ladder. How on earth did someone carry a 125lb EL up the ladder? And why would they do it in the first place? If you killed someone, whether premeditated or not, that seems like a) a lot of trouble to go through to dispose of the body and b) extremely risky, considering it would take a lot of time to complete the task and it would be highly visible to others. Why not just leave the body somewhere more convenient?

In essence, I 100% believe EL died as a result of misadventure due to paranoid psychosis resulting from mental illness. It is so sad. I wish she had received more adequate treatment and monitoring.

 

[Peter Brendt]

Bingo! This is what Oriah, the K-9 expert, has said...she must not have walked out there. However, would dogs have been thrown off if they did not take the same route as she did to the roof? or would they have picked up her trail again once on the roof?

I'm no dog expert, my only experience is what I saw in other cases. Funny thing about me and dogs, I'm kind of a cat person, but dogs seem to like me too. And I have no idea why.
Now, serious again. I think, it depends what kind of dogs. Cadaver dogs are trained to find cadavers or places where a cadaver was. They are extreme good, and training and deployment doesn't rely on following a trace. It relies basically in finding a cadaver in an area.
Regular K-9 follow traces. They are often not even special trained or only a little in this aspect, because that is what dogs do anyway. So, picking up on a lost trace later, when they cross it again wouldn't be too unusual. So my guess is they would, if there would have been something to pick up on.

 

[Peter Brendt]

Hi,

I just wanted to weigh in on this case as a verified mental health professional. Before I even learned that EL was previously diagnosed with Bipolar II, I had already come to the conclusion that she appeared to be suffering from a psychotic episode. The video of her in the elevator shaft shows her engaging in behavior that I immediately recognized as typical of psychosis (my primary job at this time is working with people with schizophrenia, Bipolar disorder, and other disorders which feature periods of psychosis).

EL appeared to be responding to internal stimuli (i.e. voices, command hallucinations telling her to do certain things) as well as possible visual hallucinations. The repetitive, disorganized, and agitated nature of her actions is indicative of a psychotic state -- I have seen this exact, same behavior time and again in my clients when they are suffering from psychosis.

It is possible EL was suffering from a psychotic break as a result of her Bipolar II diagnosis. It is also possible she had been misdiagnosed and a more proper fit would be Bipolar I, schizophrenia, or some other diagnosis. The fact that she was 21 years old also makes me question this, as symptoms of schizophrenia are often not apparent in women until they are in their early- to mid-20s, when they have their first true psychotic break (men tend to suffer a first psychotic break at a slightly earlier age, around 18 or so). So, I would be curious to know when she was diagnosed with Bipolar II and how she was being followed and treated, medically and psychiatrically.

So far as theories go, I find it infinitely more plausible that, in a psychotic and paranoid state, EL died as a result of misadventure than the theory that someone drugged and murdered her, dragged her dead-weight body not only to the roof of the hotel but ALSO to the top of the water tank, and then hoisted her in.

I believe EL, suffering from paranoid psychosis, made her way up onto the roof of the hotel (to hide from imaginary threats), disrobed (as a result of command hallucinations), climbed the red fixed ladder on the side of the storage room, jumped down onto the top of the water tank, and, trying to find a place to hide from her imaginary threats, climbed into the water tank, where she subsequently died.

The notion of a murderer preying on someone in a psychotic state and disposing of her body in the manner he supposedly did is ludicrous to me. There is a video showing a 6', 200lb man struggling to carry a 90lb dummy (that's 35lbs less that EL weighed) up a ladder. How on earth did someone carry a 125lb EL up the ladder? And why would they do it in the first place? If you killed someone, whether premeditated or not, that seems like a) a lot of trouble to go through to dispose of the body and b) extremely risky, considering it would take a lot of time to complete the task and it would be highly visible to others. Why not just leave the body somewhere more convenient?

In essence, I 100% believe EL died as a result of misadventure due to paranoid psychosis resulting from mental illness. It is so sad. I wish she had received more adequate treatment and monitoring.

The only problem with this theory is, that her empty clothes, after EL drowned already in the tank, continued the psychotic episode and traveled on their own off with an as of yet unknown destination.

 

[Rougelatete]

The only problem with this theory is, that her empty clothes, after EL drowned already in the tank, continued the psychotic episode and traveled on their own off with an as of yet unknown destination.

I don't see that being a problem with my theory at all.

It is well-known and well-documented that persons in a psychotic state will often disrobe either as a result of perceived temperature changes or command hallucinations. Additionally, persons in a psychotic state as a symptom of bipolar disorder often exhibit uninhibited or hypersexualized behavior, which disrobing is often a feature of.

All we know is that her clothes weren't found. That doesn't mean she didn't take them off. She could have thrown them down the trash chute, hidden them somewhere they haven't been found yet, or thrown them off the roof and the wind/animals/other people later scurried them away.

We don't know when her clothes were taken off, how, and by whom. EL could have disrobed long before she climbed into the water tank seeking refuge from her perceived threats, giving her plenty of time to do goodness knows what with them.

 

[Courage100]

I just wanted to weigh in on this case as a verified mental health professional. Before I even learned that EL was previously diagnosed with Bipolar II, I had already come to the conclusion that she appeared to be suffering from a psychotic episode. The video of her in the elevator shaft shows her engaging in behavior that I immediately recognized as typical of psychosis (my primary job at this time is working with people with schizophrenia, Bipolar disorder, and other disorders which feature periods of psychosis).

I agree with you and I'm glad that a verified mental health professional as yourself has confirmed it. I tried to come up with theories to explain her behavior as rational at first but it is just impossible. For example, the pressing of all the buttons down the middle over and over again including the "hold" button is simply something that a rational minded person would not do.

 

[noodled1]

The only problem with this theory is, that her empty clothes, after EL drowned already in the tank, continued the psychotic episode and traveled on their own off with an as of yet unknown destination.

We don't know about her clothes do we. There was no official statement regarding her clothes and if she was or wasn't wearing them

 

[Peter Brendt]

I don't see that being a problem with my theory at all.

It is well-known and well-documented that persons in a psychotic state will often disrobe either as a result of perceived temperature changes or command hallucinations. Additionally, persons in a psychotic state as a symptom of bipolar disorder often exhibit uninhibited or hypersexualized behavior, which disrobing is often a feature of.

All we know is that her clothes weren't found. That doesn't mean she didn't take them off. She could have thrown them down the trash chute, hidden them somewhere they haven't been found yet, or thrown them off the roof and the wind/animals/other people later scurried them away.

We don't know when her clothes were taken off, how, and by whom. EL could have disrobed long before she climbed into the water tank seeking refuge from her perceived threats, giving her plenty of time to do goodness knows what with them.

The police looked for them. If the police would have found them, we know by now and would it be only, to get the pressure of the LAPD's back. Now, I am not a certified shrink (nor a certified nut case), but as of yet, I have three kinds of profiles written: Open Cases, correct profiles and the Jessica Ridgway case (if it feels, as if I'm bothered by that failure, yeah, it still stings). So, give me the credit of a little experience too. So, I am well aware, that patients in a psychotic state of mind tend to disrobe and when we have time, we can for example discuss Richard Trenton Chase and the joys of hunting rabbits naked. But I can assure you, I have never seen a psychotic t-shirt wander off on it's own after the wearer disrobed and died. Not even if the wearer didn't die. T-shirts, not even psychotic t-shirts, wander off on their own in my experience. Nor do pants, shoes, bras and undies. Even the most psychotic clothes usually just lay there and wait that someone carries them off. So, no offense, but I see that still as a serious problem with your theory.

 

[Rougelatete]

The police looked for them. If the police would have found them, we know by now and would it be only, to get the pressure of the LAPD's back. Now, I am not a certified shrink (nor a certified nut case), but as of yet, I have three kinds of profiles written: Open Cases, correct profiles and the Jessica Ridgway case (if it feels, as if I'm bothered by that failure, yeah, it still stings). So, give me the credit of a little experience too. So, I am well aware, that patients in a psychotic state of mind tend to disrobe and when we have time, we can for example discuss Richard Trenton Chase and the joys of hunting rabbits naked. But I can assure you, I have never seen a psychotic t-shirt wander off on it's own after the wearer disrobed and died. Not even if the wearer didn't die. T-shirts, not even psychotic t-shirts, wander off on their own in my experience. Nor do pants, shoes, bras and undies. Even the most psychotic clothes usually just lay there and wait that someone carries them off. So, no offense, but I see that still as a serious problem with your theory.

BBM. Why would we know that by now? LE often keeps evidence close to the vest for various reasons that are never made public. Perhaps they have found the clothes and just aren't sharing that information publicly. Perhaps EL hid her clothes so stealthily that they still haven't been found. Perhaps she burned them and no one has found the burn site yet. Or perhaps the clothes were right there on the roof and LE collected them as evidence! We just don't know. But the fact that LE has not publicly released info on whether or not clothes were found does not in any way negate the possibility that EL died accidentally as a result of behaviors stemming from paranoid psychosis.

No one is saying that her "psychotic t-shirt" wandered off on its own. I have provided numerous, PLAUSIBLE, explanations, in this post as well as the one above, for what may have happened to the clothes. To go off about "psychotic t-shirts" wandering off on their own is just grasping at straws, in my opinion.

Explain to me WHY a killer would go through the trouble of PUBLICLY lugging a dead body up to the roof of a hotel, hoisting that 125lbs of dead weight onto their shoulders and either climbing a step ladder or a fixed, perfectly vertical ladder to the roof of the storage room and then placing EL's body in the water tank? And, HOW would they even accomplish that task, given that it is near-physically-impossible? Given that there were no obvious signs of trauma to the body to cover up, what would the purpose of all those feats even be? Why wouldn't the "killer" just leave her body where he killed her or hoist her off the roof, making it appear as a suicide and further covering up any evidence of trauma? The "killer" theory makes no sense at all, from my point of view.

 

[Peter Brendt]

BBM. Why would we know that by now? LE often keeps evidence close to the vest for various reasons that are never made public. Perhaps they have found the clothes and just aren't sharing that information publicly. Perhaps EL hid her clothes so stealthily that they still haven't been found. Perhaps she burned them and no one has found the burn site yet. Or perhaps the clothes were right there on the roof and LE collected them as evidence! We just don't know. But the fact that LE has not publicly released info on whether or not clothes were found does not in any way negate the possibility that EL died accidentally as a result of behaviors stemming from paranoid psychosis.

No one is saying that her "psychotic t-shirt" wandered off on its own. I have provided numerous, PLAUSIBLE, explanations, in this post as well as the one above, for what may have happened to the clothes. To go off about "psychotic t-shirts" wandering off on their own is just grasping at straws, in my opinion.

Explain to me WHY a killer would go through the trouble of PUBLICLY lugging a dead body up to the roof of a hotel, hoisting that 125lbs of dead weight onto their shoulders and either climbing a step ladder or a fixed, perfectly vertical ladder to the roof of the storage room and then placing EL's body in the water tank? And, HOW would they even accomplish that task, given that it is near-physically-impossible? Given that there were no obvious signs of trauma to the body to cover up, what would the purpose of all those feats even be? Why wouldn't the "killer" just leave her body where he killed her or hoist her off the roof, making it appear as a suicide and further covering up any evidence of trauma? The "killer" theory makes no sense at all, from my point of view.

1.) LE tried to sell us the "probably no foul play" opinion already. So, if they would have found the clothes, that would support their intention and therefore, they would have motive to tell us. The idea, LE plays it close to the vest would make sense however, if they found anything else, that makes them believe, it was murder. Which then again would make your theory obsolete anyway.

2.) Perhaps she hid her clothes so stealthily ... which would indicate intention, organized functional behavior and thus be in direct contradiction with a psychotic break of any form, thus rendering the idea of an accident or suicide in a psychotic state of mind obsolete again.

3.) Perhaps, she burnt them ... which then would again indicate organized functional behavior and thus kill your theory because it would be in direct contradiction to a psychosis.

4.) Or perhaps the clothes were right there and LE collected them -> see point 1

5.) I find it interesting, that you are labeling it "paranoid psychosis" because acute paranoid patients, whether psychotic or not, they run. They don't play with elevator buttons, they don't dance around, they run! And is it's paranoid psychotic together, they run even faster, because those enemies behind them, in their imagination, they run fast, regardless how fast they try to run away from them. No time to dance or play with elevators.

6.) You have, in your opinion, given plausible explanations about the clothes? Well, you ignored what the police has motive to do and what not, you explained with reasoning that contradicts your own theory, and then added a diagnosis to the whole thing, that is absolutely incompatible with the elevator video. So ... plausible, you said?

 

[OCSlacker]

Hi,

I just wanted to weigh in on this case as a verified mental health professional. Before I even learned that EL was previously diagnosed with Bipolar II, I had already come to the conclusion that she appeared to be suffering from a psychotic episode. The video of her in the elevator shaft shows her engaging in behavior that I immediately recognized as typical of psychosis (my primary job at this time is working with people with schizophrenia, Bipolar disorder, and other disorders which feature periods of psychosis).

EL appeared to be responding to internal stimuli (i.e. voices, command hallucinations telling her to do certain things) as well as possible visual hallucinations. The repetitive, disorganized, and agitated nature of her actions is indicative of a psychotic state -- I have seen this exact, same behavior time and again in my clients when they are suffering from psychosis.

It is possible EL was suffering from a psychotic break as a result of her Bipolar II diagnosis. It is also possible she had been misdiagnosed and a more proper fit would be Bipolar I, schizophrenia, or some other diagnosis. The fact that she was 21 years old also makes me question this, as symptoms of schizophrenia are often not apparent in women until they are in their early- to mid-20s, when they have their first true psychotic break (men tend to suffer a first psychotic break at a slightly earlier age, around 18 or so). So, I would be curious to know when she was diagnosed with Bipolar II and how she was being followed and treated, medically and psychiatrically.

So far as theories go, I find it infinitely more plausible that, in a psychotic and paranoid state, EL died as a result of misadventure than the theory that someone drugged and murdered her, dragged her dead-weight body not only to the roof of the hotel but ALSO to the top of the water tank, and then hoisted her in.

I believe EL, suffering from paranoid psychosis, made her way up onto the roof of the hotel (to hide from imaginary threats), disrobed (as a result of command hallucinations), climbed the red fixed ladder on the side of the storage room, jumped down onto the top of the water tank, and, trying to find a place to hide from her imaginary threats, climbed into the water tank, where she subsequently died.

The notion of a murderer preying on someone in a psychotic state and disposing of her body in the manner he supposedly did is ludicrous to me. There is a video showing a 6', 200lb man struggling to carry a 90lb dummy (that's 35lbs less that EL weighed) up a ladder. How on earth did someone carry a 125lb EL up the ladder? And why would they do it in the first place? If you killed someone, whether premeditated or not, that seems like a) a lot of trouble to go through to dispose of the body and b) extremely risky, considering it would take a lot of time to complete the task and it would be highly visible to others. Why not just leave the body somewhere more convenient?

In essence, I 100% believe EL died as a result of misadventure due to paranoid psychosis resulting from mental illness. It is so sad. I wish she had received more adequate treatment and monitoring.

With all due respect I understand you specialize in the mental health field and completely understand your argument in regard to a person attempting to hide a body etc. However, can you please explain why you feel the video shows a psychotic break in progress?

I'm not a mental health expert, perhaps that is why I just don't see it. She walked into the elevator calmly, pushed the middle row of buttons, stepped back and waited for the door to close. I see nothing there to note a psychotic break.

When the door begins to close and then opens again it may appear to her that someone was going to be getting on and doesn't. That's when she seams to become concerned a bit but still nothing completely abnormal. I would look to see if someone where outside the elevator also. Stepping out of the elevator, then returning and pushing buttons can possibly be she was frustrated the elevator wasn't working or she became more nervous having heard something in the hall . We have no audio with this and have no idea what noises she may have heard or if she was speaking to anyone.

I can see myself at her age and perhaps even today reacting to a situation that I am unsure of and perhaps a bit spooked about in a similar fashion. I am very animated and tend to fidget a bit when nervous. The hand movements toward the end do not seem to be very different then how I speak when just having a normal conversation. I'm Italian, always talk with my hands, it's just how some people are.

A few issues I have with the psychotic break assumption is

Why wasn't she acting out more in the elevator
- Talking to herself etc.

There is no audio and we are only watching a 2 minute video to draw this conclusion. Is it truly possible to reach a diagnoses that she had a psychotic break based on 2 minutes of video that only shows a small portion of what may have actually occurred and that video has no audio.

I can say without a doubt that if I am ever in a situation where I am concerned for my safety or unsure of what is happening in a place like the Cecil and there is a video camera nearby, I'll be sure to think twice on my actions because I sure the heck wouldn't want someone to think that I was having a psychotic break if in fact I wasn't and later found dead and unable to defend my actions from the video.

Seriously though, can you please explain why the actions are considered abnormal? What about the video leads you to believe that it is a psychotic break and not something as simple as her being frightened that the elevator isn't working, the door began to close then stopped, heard a noise in the hall, then saw someone in the hall and has a brief conversation with them.

I apologize if this comes across as rude in any way, not my intention at all. In a rush at the moment and typing on a tablet. Just wanted to get all my ideas out there, ask a few questions and give an alternative.