Law Suit In Favour Of British Couple: Elisa Lam Case

Thomas Cook pays £2,000 to British hotel couple told there was a decomposed body in their water tank

• Michael and Sabina Baugh were staying at the Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles
• Missing Canadian student Elisa Lam was found in water tank on hotel roof
• Couple did not realise they were drinking water from the same tank

By Tara Brady
PUBLISHED: 17:57 GMT, 13 March 2013 | UPDATED: 18:45 GMT, 13 March 2013

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Travel firm Thomas Cook has offered a British couple compensation after they drank water from a tank which was contaminated by a dead body.
Horrified Michael and Sabina Baugh, both 27, were holidaying at the Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles when the body of a missing Canadian woman was found in a water tank on the hotel roof. 
The pair had been drinking and showering in the contaminated water for the first week of their stay last month.

'Sick to the stomach': Michael and Sabina Baugh said the water at the hotel 'tasted funny'

Now, Thomas Cook has offered the couple, from Plymouth, Devon, £2,000 to make up for their ruined package holiday - which cost them more than £1,500.
Mrs Baugh said: 'We said we need to think about it. We are not sure.
'We wanted our money back with compensation on top. But we are not sure that £500 is enough.
'We haven’t accepted the money so it’s not over yet.'

 

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The area has one of the highest crime rates in the city, so rather than go in search of bottled water at night, they drank from the tap.
But the body of Elisa Lam, a student at the University of British Columbia in Canada, was found in one of the four large water tanks after a maintenance worker went up to investigate reports of low water pressure.
The student had been travelling to Santa Cruz in northern California when she disappeared.

Mystery: Los Angeles fire fighters peer down at the water tanks on the roof of the Hotel Cecil as they try to figure out how to remove the body of a young woman found inside

Michael Baugh said they felt unwell 'mentally' after they heard the body of Elisa Lam was in the water tank

'Since we came back we have been working so we have not had time to make an appointment to go and see the doctor.
'We are feeling fine, it’s just quite a traumatic experience. I couldn’t sleep for a few nights,' said Mrs Baugh.
Luckily the water they were drinking was later found to contain no harmful bacteria.

Found: Lam was found wedged in the water tank above the Cecil Hotel by a maintenance worker after guests complained of low water pressure

Mr Baugh added: 'We really don’t know what to do, we will probably think about it for a few days and decided what to do from there.
'We aren’t really sure whether to accept it, but at the same time we don’t want to be unreasonable and greedy.'
A spokeswoman for Thomas Cook said: 'We know how important holidays are to our customers and we take any issues affecting our guests very seriously.
'We can only imagine how upsetting and stressful the events in Los Angeles must have been for Mr and Mrs Baugh, and whilst they can’t be predicted, we’re discussing how we can make amends for what happened on their holiday.'
The Cecil Hotel was built in 1927 is famously known for being home to infamous serial killers Jack Unterwege and Richard ‘Night Stalker’ Ramirez.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2292822/Thomas-Cook-pays-2-000-British-hotel-couple-told-decomposed-body-water-tank.html#ixzz2NoYdwyap
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