Cecil Hotel: how many deaths took place at the Los Angeles hotel, what happened to Elisa Lam, and is it still open?

Netflix has launched its latest true crime series, Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel, based around the notorious hotel and the murder of Canadian student, Elisa Lam.

The documentary raises questions about Lam’s death and the dark conspiracies about the hotel which followed.

American Horror also took inspiration from the dreadful life-endings recorded at the hotel, in its fifth series American Horror Story: Hotel.

So why did the hotel gain an infamous reputation, how many murders took place there and is it haunted?

Where is the Cecil Hotel?

Located in Skid Row, an area of downtown Los Angeles, Cecil Hotel is now called Stay on Main.

When it was opened in 1924 by investors William Banks Hanner, Charles L. Dix and Robert H. Schops the neighbourhood was not considered rundown.

However the great depression which followed in the years after its opening resulted in the hotel’s surrounding area suffering rapid decay.

Throughout its history, many people in the surrounds of the hotel have died of suicide, drug overdoses and unexplained deaths - as well as murder.

In 2007, the hotel was revamped and refurbished, before being rebranded as Stay on Main in 2011.

It was sold for $30 million (£21,667,500.00) in 2014 to hotelier Richard Born, before closing in 2017 for further refurbishment. The hotel has not yet reopened.

Why is the hotel linked to murders and abductions?

The 19-story hotel has been at the centre of global speculation and controversy since the death of student Elisa Lam in February 2013.

Lam had been missing since 31 January, which prompted a high profile investigation.

She was last seen by cameras in the hotel’s lift, making strange gestures with her hands, walking in and out of the lift, and pressing all the buttons on the lift’s panel.

She was then seen signalling to someone outside of the lift and out of camera range, but this person was never identified.

During the police investigation into her disappearance, her body was recovered from a water tank at the top of the Cecil Hotel on 19 February 2013.

However, this is only one of several murders and suicides that have taken place in the hotel’s near-100 years of existence.

In total, at least three murders have been linked to the Cecil and over 16 unexplained deaths and suicides have also taken place there - from suicidal poisonings to a woman throwing her newborn child out of a window.

The Cecil Hotel has also been used by convicted murderers to stay in during the period of their crimes.

The hotel’s spate of dark events began in 1927 with the death of a man who shot himself after he failed to reconcile with his wife and child.

In 1947, the hotel became linked with the infamous murder mystery of the Black Dahlia, Elizabeth Short..

The aspiring actress had been spotted at the Cecil Hotel's bar and her body was later found in Leimert Park, mutilated and cut in half.

Another notable visitor to the hotel was the ‘Night Stalker’ - real name Richard Ramirez - who stayed at the hotel during his spree of at least 13 killings and several rapes and attacks in 1985.

He allegedly would walk into the hotel in the early hours of the morning, following his deadly attacks, and no one would question him.

In 1991, Jack Unterweger, an Austrian serial killer who murdered in countries such as Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia and the US was also reported to have stayed at the hotel.

The Cecil was also a hot spot for adultery and sex workers, according to rumours.

Can you still stay there?

At the moment the hotel is closed, but it could reopen fairly soon as it is thought to be undergoing a refurbishment which has lasted upwards of three years.

It is described on Google as “Occupying a landmark building, this vibrant hotel is 0.9 miles from the Museum of Contemporary Art and 1 mile from the LA LIVE entertainment complex.

“The modern, colourful quarters range from private rooms to shared dorms. All have ceiling fans, flat-screen TVs and free Wi-Fi.

“Some have en suite bathrooms, while others share facilities.”

Where can I watch Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel?

The four part docu-series is now available to watch on Netflix for everyone with a standard subscription.