An Orange County public defender killed in Mexico

An Orange County public defender was killed Saturday in Mexico. He was celebrating his first wedding anniversary with his wife.

Elliot Blair, 33, died in Rosarito Beach, a popular tourist area along Mexico’s Pacific coast. The Orange County Register confirmed his death with Public Defender Martin Schwarz.

Blair had been with the public defender’s office since 2017, the year he passed the bar exam. According to Schwarz, he handled felony cases out of the Santa Ana office.

Details about the killing have not been released, although a GoFundMe campaign described it as “a brutal crime.” A Spanish-language publication, Noticias BC, reported that a man bearing the description of Blair fell out of a fourth-floor hotel room. The hotel, Las Rocas Spa and Resort, is in Rosarito and situated along the Tijuana-Ensenada freeway.

The page also said that Mexican authorities have not released any information; however, Blair’s family is working with them to get details.

The GoFundMe campaign was established to help Blair’s wife, Kim, with the costs of transporting Blair’s body back to the United States and “dealing with all the red tape.”

Schwarz told the Register that Blair was a “devoted husband, terrific person and a fantastic lawyer who dedicated his life to serving his clients and helping the county’s most vulnerable.

“He impacted countless lives and his loss will be felt deeply by all who knew him,” Schwarz added. “We have been in communication with the family and are doing what we can to support them in this difficult time, including working with local and federal officials to help provide them with answers.”

Blair’s wife is also a public defender in Orange County.