Released on January 5, 2017, Investigation Discovery’s “Ice Cold Killers: Frozen Innocence” is based on the tragic story of Elissa Self, an eleven years old girl who was kidnapped on a fine winter morning from St. Louis. A few days later, her body was found on the bank of an icy river. She was raped and strangled.
The documentary shows how investigators use DNA as a clue to reach the criminal. The authorities did a race against the clock as they were fearful that the killer would target again.
Who Killed Elissa Self?
The investigators came to know about Martin Link’s criminal background from the sex crimes section. He had recently completed a six-year sentence in jail as a sex offender who had raped and murdered a woman. Martin’s house was very close to the place from where the eleven years old was abducted, and he was also familiar with the place where her body was found.
As a result of the list of coincidences, Martin became the main suspect in the police’s eyes. After a long process of investigation, the authorities were sure that Martin Link was the person who raped and murdered innocent Elissa Self.
How Did Authorities Reach Martin Link?
After the recommendation upon Martin Link’s name from the Sex crimes section, the authorities started to look for him. On January 26, 1991, Martin was summoned by a police officer because of driving a damaged headlight vehicle. However, he was in no mood to settle the issue, which resulted in a high-speed chase until his vehicle crashed into a pole.
Investigators found out that Martin had committed sex offences crimes in that area when he was chased and caught by the officer. He had tried to rape a woman at a local Laundromat, abduct a girl whose age was eight years, rob a business, and again made an attempt to rape a woman at knifepoint.
Police took the help of forensic reports, which clearly showed that the vaginal swabs taken from Elissa’s dead body had Martin’s DNA. Martin also had a jar of Vaseline in his car, which was sent to forensic for tests. The forensic report stated that the DNA of the bloodstain inside the jar matched Elissa’s, and the jar had Martin’s fingerprints. However, the report didn’t surprise the investigators much.
Everything You Would Like To Know about Elissa Self
Born in St. Louis in June 1979, Elissa was a bright and talented child who was enrolled in the Enright Classical Junior Academy in St Louis. Just as any other day, the 11 years old left home at 6:30 am to catch her school bus.
For her family, the day was pretty normal until they got a call from the school at around 8:20 am, who informed them that their daughter hadn’t reached school. Elissa’s parents became anxious and started to look for her in their neighborhood, but all in vain.
At last, they called up the police, and the officials started their search. Authorities tried to reach Elissa through their neighbours but couldn’t. Four days later, Elissa’s dead body was found under a bridge in Wayne County, Missouri, on the bank of St Francis River.
How Did Martin Link Die?
Martin King was sentenced to the death penalty in 1995 in return for his crimes. He was injected with a deadly drug on February 9, 2011, to execute the punishment.
