Orange County lawyer victim of extortion by Mexican police before death: report

Report: Mexican police extorted OC prosecutor before death

New details are emerging about the Orange County prosecutor who died in Mexico.

LOS ANGELES - The Orange County prosecutor who was found dead in Mexico last month was reportedly the victim of extortion in the hours leading up to his death.

Rosarito police extorted money from Elliot Blair and his wife less than two hours before he died, according to reports.

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Doctor says OC prosecutor killed in Mexico was victim of homicide

A doctor now says the death of Elliot Blair could be a homicide and his wife said the police in Rosarito tried to extort them before his death.

Police stopped Blair for reportedly rolling through a stop sign on his way back from a restaurant. The officers allegedly demanded money from the couple who gave them $160 before driving away.

Blair died hours later after falling from an open hotel walkway, according to local authorities.

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Kimberly Williams, center, wife of Elliot Blair, is overcome with emotion as she is joined by her mother Janet, left, and sister Lindsey, right, during a candlelight vigil in Orange on Thursday, January 26, 2023 for her husband, Elliot Blair (Photo by Leonard Ortiz/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)

Mexican police have described this as a tragic accident but Blair's family believes he was the victim of a brutal crime.

Family claims foul play in death of OC public defender

Mexican officials say it was an accidental fall, but the family says it was a brutal crime.

Blair was found dead Jan. 14 while on vacation with his wife in Rosarito Beach. The two were celebrating their first wedding anniversary.

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Since then, Blair's family has expressed frustration with Mexican authorities over a lack of communication and has since launched their own independent investigation into his death.

Blair was a deputy public defender with the Orange County Public Defender's office since 2017.