Dark Secret in a Quiet Neighborhood | Elizabeth Olten Case
One evening in October 2009, nine-year-old
Elizabeth Olten went to visit a friend in a quiet neighborhood in St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Missouri. She promised her mother she would be back soon, but she never returned.
The family and police launched a massive search, but there was no trace of her. During the investigation, a teenager named Alyssa Bestaman caught the attention of the detectives. She suffered from mental health issues and had previously dug two holes in the woods for no apparent reason. Under pressure, Alyssa confessed and led the police to the woods where she had buried Elizabeth.
She stated that she killed her simply "to experience the feeling," and coldly recorded this in her diary.
The community was shocked, and Alyssa was tried as an adult and sentenced to life imprisonment.
As for Elizabeth's family, they continued to live with the pain of losing their daughter, who went out for a few minutes and never returned.