Police say Liz Hamel, 18, died an accidental death at UC Santa Barbara in February 2025.
Courtesy Alain Hamel
Ten months after 18-year-old freshman Liz Hamel was found fighting for her life on the sidewalk under a UC Santa Barbara residence balcony, police say the case is closed. UCSB police told SFGATE that after interviewing a person of interest who was with Liz that night, her death has been ruled an accident, but Liz’s family said they still have unanswered questions. The Hamels’ family lawyer also contends that the police investigation may show “bias.” Adding further confusion to the investigation, the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office told SFGATE on Monday that the case is “still under review.”
“Following a thorough investigation into the tragic passing of one of our students outside a residence hall in February 2025, UCPD forwarded its findings to the Santa Barbara District Attorney for review,” UC Santa Barbara spokesperson Kiki Reyes told SFGATE over email. “Based on the totality of the exhaustive investigation, which entailed a systematic review and account of all available information and numerous interviews, including a person of interest identified during the course of the investigation, it is the Department’s conclusion that the incident was an accidental fall that resulted in the student’s passing. Our hearts and thoughts are with the family and friends who have suffered a terrible loss.”
Article continues below this ad
Courtesy Alain Hamel
On the evening of Feb. 14, 2025, Liz went out with friends in Isla Vista to celebrate Valentine’s Day. A short walk from her freshman dorm, they hung out at Lao Wang Noodle Bar, where Liz was captured on cellphone footage with a young blond man. She left the restaurant with him at 10:05 p.m., friends remembered. Twenty-one minutes later, she was found lying on a sidewalk, unconscious and with severe injuries, under a third floor walkway at a campus dorm. She died in the hospital six days later.
The investigation into her death by UCSB police revealed no news for months. In June, Liz’s father, Alain Hamel, and his lawyer, Tyrone Maho, held a press conference at the spot where Liz was found to try to find answers, specifically concerning the mysterious man who was last seen with Liz on the night she died.
At the press conference, Maho told reporters that after spending about two hours at the noodle bar in Isla Vista that night, Liz walked out with the man she had “been very close with” in the restaurant. She, apparently accidentally, left her phone and identification in the restaurant; both were later picked up by friends.
Article continues below this ad
Liz Hamel was studying biology and chemistry at UC Santa Barbara at the time of her death.
Courtesy Alain Hamel
The pair apparently headed not to Liz’s freshman dorm — the San Miguel Residence Hall — but to another residence on campus, the San Rafael dorm. “She lived on the other side of campus,” Alain Hamel said. The dorm where Liz apparently fell to her death is not on the route from the restaurant to her dorm.
“One doesn’t just stumble across this dorm. It’s not the first place one would go to. So we believe he might have known someone here. He might have been staying here,” Maho said of the mystery man.
Article continues below this ad
The photo shared from the noodle bar shows a man in a gray sweatshirt and blue jeans leaning forward. The man was holding Liz in the original footage, but Maho told reporters she was edited out to respect her privacy.
This flyer was shared across UC Santa Barbara by Liz’s family.
Handout
At about 10:26 p.m., Liz was found nearly lifeless on the sidewalk at the San Rafael dorms. A passerby, who was not the man she left the restaurant with, found her and called 911. She still had a pulse at the time and was taken to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital. She was pronounced dead nearly a week later on Feb. 20.
Now, after UCSB police concluded that Liz died of an accidental fall, while sharing no further details, her family still has questions.
Article continues below this ad
“We are aware of UC Police’s conclusion, we still have unanswered questions about how Liz died,” Alain Hamel told SFGATE on Monday. “We will continue working with our counsel and the appropriate authorities to ensure that all available evidence is carefully reviewed.”
“We believe that there remains critical evidence to obtain, and we disagree with the UCSB Police Department statement that there can be a conclusion made in connection with Ms. Hamel’s death,” Maho, the family’s lawer, said in a statement. “We are aware of key inconsistencies that remain unaddressed, creating more questions than answers. Further, we are concerned that there may be an inherent conflict of interest with the UCSB Police Department investigating this matter, and we could potentially be dealing with a biased review of the events that occurred on February 14, 2025. Our own investigation continues.”
In the brief statement send to SFGATE on Monday, the district attorney’s office said that “the case is still under review,” meaning that charges could still be brought.
Article continues below this ad
Liz moved from her family home in Bellevue, Washington, in 2024 to study biology and chemistry in California and wanted to become a scientist.
“My wife and I are devastated,” Alain Hamel told SFGATE. “Liz was our only child and we are still trying to understand how to go on without her.”