The former manager of the infamous Cecil Hotel was forced to respond to claims she edited the bizarre lift footage of Elisa Lam.
Back in 2021, the Los Angeles hotel became the subject of Joe Berlinger’s Netflix documentary series Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel, which followed the eerie story of Elisa Lam's disappearance in 2013.
The Canadian student was seen on CCTV behaving erratically in the elevator just hours before she went missing, and was later found in the hotel's rooftop water tank.
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After the series dropped on Netflix, some viewers alleged that the strange footage must have been tampered with by hotel staff, with one tweeting at the time: “The cctv footage was edited for sure. Cecil hotel, explain yourself.”
But Amy Price, who used to work as the hotel manager, has denied these claims, saying she felt ‘surprised’ by the accusations.
Speaking to E! about the response to the documentary, she reiterated that she was the one who gave the elevator footage to police.
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Price said: "First of all, I provided the footage. When it was presented to me... it's bizarre."
As for the tampering accusations, she continued: "That's absolutely false.
"I was a little surprised to hear that. I really hadn't heard that before the documentary. I'm not surprised people feel that way based on the momentum that a lot of the sleuths have."
Price also said the Cecil Hotel cooperated with the police ‘from the moment they arrived’.
In another interview with The Metro, she also echoed this sentiment.
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"I did everything that I was supposed to do, notified the authorities and, knowing that she had passed away, but it was really hard for me to wrap my own head around," Price explained.
"It then really turned into quite a circus, but my job was to stay focused and get the hotel back and running and move forward."
The former manager also recalled how wannabe detectives used to keep showing up at the hotel, adding: “It was like people just became obsessed,’ she explained."The people that were checking in, they were there to do their own research. People just became obsessed.
“There was a time that I was sitting at my desk and somebody was climbing the exterior, attempting to climb up a wall.
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“I look out my window and I’m thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, this was absolutely insane.’”
Featured Image Credit: NetflixTopics: TV And Film, Documentaries, Netflix, True Crime