UC Santa Barbara freshman Elizabeth “Liz” Hamel died after suffering severe injuries due to an alleged balcony fall from an on-campus dorm hall in February, according to her family.
UCSB freshman Liz Hamel died from injuries sustained from a likely balcony fall outside San Rafael hall. Photo courtesy Alain Hamel.
An unidentified person found Hamel, 18, unconscious outside San Rafael hall with serious head and body injuries on Feb. 14 at 10:26 p.m., according to Hamel’s father, Alain Hamel.
Doctors determined she likely fell around 15 to 25 feet from a breezeway near the clusters, Mr. Hamel said. She was resuscitated from cardiac arrest by paramedics at the scene and transported to Cottage Health Hospital, but could not be immediately identified as her I.D. and phone were missing.
Doctors issued a “very negative prognosis” upon receiving her, meaning she had little to no chance of survival, Mr. Hamel said. Though Hamel underwent surgery to treat brain injuries suffered from her fall, she was declared brain dead on Feb. 20, nearly a week after the incident.
Hamel and her friends were attending a Valentine’s Day celebration at Lao Wang the day of the fall, according to Mr. Hamel. Mr. Hamel said she left her phone and I.D. at Lao Wang before leaving the restaurant, leaving no way to trace her whereabouts.
Photographs from her father show Hamel with friends at 10:05 p.m., nearly twenty minutes before she was discovered unconscious outside San Rafael hall. It is unclear why she was at San Rafael, as Hamel lived at San Miguel hall — nearly on the other side of the campus.
Liz Hamel pictured at Lao Wang on Feb. 14 about an hour before she was found unconscious outside San Rafael hall. Photo courtesy Alain Hamel.
The University did not issue an official statement regarding Hamel’s death in February. UCSB media spokesperson Kiki Reyes told the Nexus on March 4, “Our deepest sympathies are with the family and friends of the student who passed away on campus last week.” Reyes issued the email statement to the Nexus upon a request made the same day. Though the statement says “last week,” it was issued almost two weeks after Hamel died.
“Last month, emergency responders were called to a residence hall for a call of service regarding an unconscious student. Unfortunately, the individual passed away. For privacy reasons, we cannot discuss any of the details,” Reyes’ statement continued.
On March 3, UCSB Housing told students residing at San Miguel via email, “We are saddened to share that a resident of San Miguel Hall passed away on February 21, 2025. We are thinking of all our San Miguel community members who have been impacted by this loss and are here for you.” The email did not mention Hamel by name.
UCSB did not issue a Timely Alert at the time of the incident, and no further details have been issued through campus communications. The case is still being investigated, Hamel’s family told the Nexus.
Hamel was undeclared at UCSB but intended to declare for biology. She was born and raised in Bellevue, Washington where she attended Bellevue High School and played varsity tennis.
Hamel’s family held a memorial service for her on March 2 at McDermott-Crockett & Associates Mortuary in Santa Barbara. 115 people attended the service, exceeding the funeral home’s maximum occupancy of 80 people.
“Liz was talented, beautiful, glamorous, intelligent, and funny — all of those things. 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, debating how best to support them through tough times. She just couldn’t help but care,” Mr. Hamel said in a eulogy for his daughter.
He continued, “The kindness, humor, and empathy of Liz made her into a shining light for others. She lit up every room and made other people’s lives better.”
Hamel’s sorority, Pi Beta Phi, shared their condolences for Hamel on Instagram on Feb. 28 and Facebook on March 1. “With heavy hearts, we share the passing of our beloved California Zeta sister Liz Hamel. Sending Pi Phi Love and support to her family, loved ones, and our sisters at Pi Beta Phi UCSB! during this time,” it said.
“She will be remembered for the kindness and joy she brought to others. Our hearts are with her family and loved ones,” the California Zeta chapter said in the post.
Friends of Hamel’s family have shared an email for community members to send information relating to the day of the incident at lizhamel.information@gmail.com.
This article can be summarized as “Girl dies falling from a second floor balcony under very mysterious circumstances at San Rafael student accommodation. No one in authority is willing to share any information on the circumstances if they even know anything at all anything at this stage. Neither has anything been done to secure the safety of the young people clearly at risk.” It’s clear to anyone reading this that the implication here is that there is a good possibility, among other possibilities, that she was murdered. Is that really the best news media, police, and campus authorities can tell… Read more »
such a tragedy! police need to solve it