The Mysterious Unsolved Death of Elisa Lam

In February 2013 the guests at The Cecil hotel started making multiple complaints to the front desk about the water in their room. Some said the tap water had a funny taste to it, others said the water pressure was basically non-existent. A maintenance worker was sent to check on the status of one of the main water tanks and made the horrifying discovery of a young woman who had been missing for three weeks: Elisa Lam. There are about four hundred thousand theories as to how Elisa ended up in the water tank so let’s dive in.

Books used for this Episode:

Gone at Midnight: The Tragic True Story Behind the Unsolved Internet Sensation

All Thats Interesting: The Unsolved Mystery Behind the Disturbing Death of Elisa Lam

As always, thank you to our sponsors:

Embr: Embr wave is the first bracelet that helps you feel colder or warmer at the press of a button! Right now Embr wave is offering our listeners $50 off when you go to embrwave.com/morbid

Care/of: Care/of is a wellness brand that makes it easy to maintain your health goals with a customized vitamin plan that helps you feel your best today and supports you long-term.
For 50% off your first Care/of order, go to TakeCareOf.com/morbid50 and enter code morbid50.

Daily Harvest: Daily Harvest makes it easy to eat clean, undeniably delicious food, no matter what your day brings. Keep it simple with Daily Harvest! Go to DAILYHARVEST.com and enter promo code MORBID to get twenty-five dollars off your first box!

Conde Nast: For a limited time you can get 12 weeks of The New Yorker for just SIX dollars – that’s a savings of 50 percent! Plus, listeners of the show will receive an exclusive tote bag - free. Go to NewYorker.com/MORBID

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)

Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)

Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley

Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally

Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.