A public defender in Orange County was killed in Mexico while he was celebrating his first wedding anniversary with his wife on Saturday, Jan. 14.
Elliot D. Blair, a 33-year-old assistant public defender in Orange County, was celebrating his first wedding anniversary with his wife Kim in Rosarito Beach, Mexico on Saturday, Jan. 14 when he reportedly got killed. Rosarito Beach is a popular resort town close to Mexico’s northern border and a coastal city about 13 miles south of Tijuana. Details regarding the nature of his death were not immediately clear. However, a GoFundMe page set up on behalf of his family said he had been the victim of “a brutal crime,” the Daily Beast reported.
“Elliot was known as a patient and caring advocate,” wrote Annie Rodriguez, the GoFundMe page author and another staffer in the public defender’s office. “He was the best of us and was loved by countless members of our office and the Orange County legal community. We are heartbroken.”
His wife Kim, also a public defender, was not involved in the incident.
“There are not enough words to express the level of love he had for Kim,” Rodriguez added. “Kim was his life... Kim’s heart is shattered.”
Kim and Blair’s loved ones are in the process of negotiating the repatriation of his body to the United States, FOX 11 Los Angeles reported.
Meanwhile, a Spanish-language report from Rosarito outlet Noticias B.C. stated that Blair died after falling from a fourth-floor balcony at Las Rocas Resort and Spa, a local hotel. A police writeup of the incident reportedly detailed how municipal officers found a man, later identified as Blair, unresponsive and face-down at the hotel ground.
Blair, who began working in the public defender’s office in 2017, was described by Public Defender Martin Schwarz as a “devoted husband, terrific person and a fantastic lawyer who dedicated his life to serving his clients and helping the county’s most vulnerable.”
"This is an unspeakable tragedy," the Orange County Public Defender's officer said.
"Our hearts go out to Elliot's family and all those who knew him and loved him in the Orange County Public Defender's Office."
Blair is survived by his wife Kim, his mother, and his sister.
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