UCPD Rules UC Santa Barbara Student’s Death an Accident but Family Still Has Questions

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This article was underwritten in part by the Mickey Flacks Journalism Fund for Social Justice, a proud, innovative supporter of local news. To make a contribution go to sbcan.org/journalism_fund.

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UC Santa Barbara’s police department has ruled the fall that caused 18-year-old Elizabeth Hamel’s death was accidental. Hamel, a first-year student, seemingly fell from the second or third story breezeway at San Rafael Residence Hall on February 14, suffering critical injuries. She died at Cottage Hospital a week later. 

Liz came to UCSB from her hometown of Bellevue, Washington, and was studying biology and chemistry. 

“Liz was talented, beautiful, glamorous, intelligent, and funny,” her father, Alain Hamel, said in her eulogy. “But my favorite thing about her was her kindness. She cared so deeply about her friends, she’d sit with her mom and me in the kitchen, figuring out how to be there for them. She just couldn’t help but care.” 

On the night she fell, Hamel and her friends were celebrating Valentine’s Day at Lao Wang, an Asian fusion restaurant and bar in Isla Vista. There, according to a flier that Hamel’s family and private investigator Claytor later circulated, Hamel left with a young man. The young man, the flier said, was blond and about six feet tall. 

In spring, Hamel’s father told the Independent that pictures show Hamel smiling with friends at 10:06 p.m. Around 20 minutes later, he said, she was found on the concrete, after the fall. The walk from the restaurant to the dorm takes about five minutes. 

Hamel’s family asked the public for information on the young man. About a day after Alain Hamel, Claytor, and the Hamel family’s attorney, Tyrone Maho, held a press conference, UCPD released a statement that they had identified and interviewed the man. They did not release his name. 

UCPD said in an emailed statement to the media that they had reached their conclusion after completing a “systematic review and account of all available information and numerous interviews, including a person of interest identified during the course of the investigation.” 

Hamel’s father said the family was aware of UCPD’s conclusion that Hamel’s fall happened accidentally, but still had unanswered questions. 

“We will continue working with our counsel and the appropriate authorities to ensure that all available evidence is carefully reviewed,” he said in an emailed statement. 

The young man’s name was not released to the public, and it is not clear when he alleges he left Hamel. Hamel did not live at San Rafael Residence Hall. 

Maho and Claytor said in a separate statement that they disagree with UCPD’s conclusion and that their own investigation continues. 

“We are aware of key inconsistencies that remain unaddressed, creating more questions than answers,” they wrote. 

The Santa Barbara District Attorney’s Office said the case is still under review. 

Maho and Claytor said they were concerned that there may be a conflict of interest with UCPD investigating Hamel’s death and that the review could be biased. The UC Board of Regents have the power to appoint officers to UC police departments, and UC police departments have jurisdiction on the land owned by the UC Board of Regents. Maho and Claytor ask whether the officer’s loyalty is to the Regents or students. 

As for Hamel’s parents, Alain Hamel said that he and his wife, Hema, are devastated at the loss of their daughter. 

“Liz was our only child, and we are still trying to understand how to go on without her,” he said.