Sponsored message
Logged in as
Audience-funded nonprofit news
radio tower icon laist logo
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Subscribe
  • Listen Now Playing Listen

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

News

Teen In Cosplay At Comic-Con Wasn't Brutally Attacked But Suffered A Nasty Fall, Police Say

comic-con-crowd.jpg
Crowd at Comic-Con (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.

A teen cosplayer who was found bleeding and unconscious outside a San Diego hotel during Comic-Con was not brutally assaulted but suffered a bad fall, police said.

San Diego Harbor police said the 17-year-old slipped while climbing a gate at the San Diego Marriott Marquis and Marina and fell six feet, according to NBC Los Angeles. Authorities discovered this after reviewing footage from security cameras and interviewing people who attended Comic-Con.

"Her injuries and physical evidence at the scene were consistent with a fall," Harbor Police said in a statement.

The teen was found around 1:15 a.m. on Sunday near the hotel pool, still wearing her Roger Rabbit costume. She was taken to the hospital, where she was in the ICU being treated for skull and eye-socket fractures and cerebral hemorrhaging. Authorities were worried that she was the victim of a sexual assault because her memory was fuzzy and she was under the influence of drugs.

Police arrested 29-year-old Justin Kalior for having sexual contact with a minor and providing her with alcohol. Kailor said that he took the teen down to Comic-Con, although he was under the impression that she was 20. He said the two were not romantically involved, and denied giving her alcohol or having sex with her. That night, they had gone to the hotel for a party that later got broken up over a noise complaint.They got into a fight about leaving and she ran away and he didn't follow her, he said.

Initial reports said that the teen was found on the side of the road, not the pool, and that she did not have her ID on her, but police later said she did.

One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.

You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.

If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief

Make your tax-deductible donation today