WMG / Himala

Elsa's death is an allusion to John Lennon's assassination.

Both Elsa and John boldly proclaimed something critical of Christianity—Elsa saying "there are no miracles" and John boasting that his group was "more popular than Jesus", and both were shot dead as a result. Since the film was released in 1982, two years after Lennon's assassination, it seems plausible.