Update by the edhat staff
The University of California Police Department stated they have identified the person of interest last seen with Liz Hamel moments before she died.
However, details have yet to be released and the man whose photo is plastered on fliers has yet be identified.
Hamel’s family stated since the press conference this week many people came forward positively identifying the man in the photos leading the police to contact him.
“An individual who was identified in relation to the incident at our residence hall has been located and interviewed,” UCPD said in a public statement. “The investigation is still ongoing, and we cannot discuss any additional details at this time. UCPD is keeping the family informed and is working closely with the Santa Barbara District Attorney’s Office.”
Original Post
By the edhat staff
The family of UC Santa Barbara (UCSB) freshman Elizabeth “Liz” Hamel gathered at the San Rafael Residence Hall on Wednesday morning to request the help of students and the broader community. They seek crucial information relating to the suspected balcony fall on February 14 that led to Liz’s death. The 18-year-old from Bellevue, Washington, was discovered unconscious with severe injuries.
Attorney Tyrone Maho, of Maho Prentice LLP, Michael Claytor of Claytor Investigations, and Liz’s father Alain Hamel spoke during the press conference to shed light on the circumstances. Details emerged about Liz’s last known movements.
At around 8:00 p.m. on February 14, Hamel joined friends from her residence at San Miguel Hall to the restaurant Lao Wang in Isla Vista, said Maho. She was seen with a male for most of the time at the restaurant and was seen leaving the restaurant with him at 10:06 p.m.
At 10:27 p.m., a bystander called 9-1-1 to report Hamel was found unconscious outside of the San Rafel dorm. She was transported to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital where she died six days later.
The male was described as being white, approximately six-feet-tall with dark blonde hair, wearing light blue Carhartt jeans, a grey Patagonia sweater, and a carabiner on his right hip.
“If you are this young man, or you know who he is, we are pleading with you to come forward,” said Maho while emphasizing they are not being accused of wrongdoing. The call to action extended to anyone present on campus or in Isla Vista that night, highlighting the importance of even seemingly minor details that could offer leads in the investigation.
The aftermath of Liz’s death has prompted a wider discussion about campus safety and community responsibility. Alain Hamel expressed regret that the university did not encourage public cooperation sooner, revealing that initial police strategies did not prioritize community engagement.
Maho stated that the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office and the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office have offered assistance to UCSB and the police department, but so far it has not been accepted.
“I shouldn’t be standing here. I should be at home, grieving my daughter and trusting in the institutions that are responsible for this investigation. But the academic quarter is coming to an end. Students are graduating or leaving campus. People’s memories fade,” said Alain Hamel.
Anyone with any information that could help the investigation of Liz Hamel’s death can contact Claytor Investigations at 805-335-3851 or through their website.
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https://www.edhat.com/news/ucsb-freshman-dies-from-injuries-after-suspected-fall-from-residence-hall/
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Losing a child and not having the details. You send your beautiful daughter off to college and this happens. One of the WORST nightmares. Bless her soul and Bless her family who must be suffering terribly…
+1 ^
I can see her aura in those pics and I am afraid we have lost a beautiful soul.
It is a short amount of time between when they left the NB and the discovery of her body.
21minutes?
I hope the family gets an answer.
I would like to know why there is no video.
Billion dollar campus and no security cams?
There has to be some vid.
You certainly believe in all sorts of woo and nonsense.
You’re RUDE! You don’t want the family to get some answers or closure on the death of their ONLY child. These are valid questions. Heartless.
Check your aura on that one. If you see one, you’re hallucinating.
I just looked at his pic for the first time.
Someone knows him.
Police located and interviewed the guy in the poster.