2004 Honda Civic rear driver’s side door un-openable from inside + outside

Hi all, I have been watching ETCG1’s videos and have gained a great deal of knowledge from all that he has been sharing. Thanks to him, I have been slowly (yet surely) been chipping away at working on the problems with my 2004 Honda civic manual. Unfortunately, I have run into sort of a weird hiccup involving a locked shut Left Rear Passenger’s side door that other places on the internet seem to provide very odd answers in regards to fixing it.

A brief summary of whats going on:

• Door won’t open from the outside, the handle seems to be functional and has no different feel compared to the other door handles
• Door won’t open from the inside. Its clear that the previous owner tried to figure out the problem (or got mad at it) and tried to unlock the door by maybe yanking on the unlock release until it broke off (the lock/unlock tab is missing). After that it looks like the plastic flap that hides the screw sthat attaches the handle + panel to the door has been removed.

I know how to remove the door panel when the door is OPEN but unfortunately, I am stuck with the fact that the door latch simply will not cooperate and allow me to open the door to remove the panel properly… as is, I am going to have to probably force it a bit if I want to remove the panel while the door is closed. Also, I am guessing that the door is stuck locked maybe be due to a faulty child security lock? Not sure… but its the only thing I can guess might be the issue. Another odd thing to note is that when I tried to test the child lock on the other passenger door it didn’t work so maybe there is a high rate of failure with that component? Not sure.

The solutions I have been able to find range from drilling the door which is something I really do not want to do nor am I prepared to even attempt… or something involving making a makeshift lever that I can use to tease the latch open. Here are the links to the solutions I have found:

Drilling solution (not preferred): http://ww2.justanswer.com/uploads/dinotapia/2011-10-28_005831_2011-10-27_17-57-32.pdf

Makeshift lever solution: https://honda-tech.com/forums/tech-misc-15/civic-door-wont-open-inside-outside-fix-no-drilling-2731869/

I am going to attempt to try the lever solution and see if that works… but I was wondering if ETCG1 has seen this issue pop up in his years working on Acura/Honda vehicles. Is there a better/easier workaround? Will I have to buy a new latch assembly if I manage to get the old (broken) one out or is there some way I could refurbish the lock with my somewhat apprentice level of DIY skills? Any advice or suggestions would really be appreciated since I don’t think the car will pass inspection if I cannot open all 4 doors.

Thanks to anyone who can help me out here!