JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Friends and family laid 9-year-old Elizabeth Olten to rest in Jefferson City Wednesday.
She was found dead Friday in a wooded area near her St. Martins home, two days after she was reported missing.
Hundreds of people gathered at Jefferson City’s largest church, Concord Baptist Church. Elizabeth’s favorite color is pink, so she was laid to rest in a pink casket with pink flowers laid on top of the casket.
A special antique funeral carriage from the 1800’s carried her body to Hawthorne Cemetery. A team of fox trotters led the way. Hundreds of people in the community lined the funeral procession and released pink balloons as the casket went by.
Police have accused a 15-year-old boy of murdering Elizabeth.
A judge ordered the 15-year-old suspect to stay in juvenile detention until a certification hearing on Nov. 18. At that time, a judge will determine if the 15-year-old should be tried as an adult. The 15-year-old has been charged with first-degree murder.
An attorney for the 15-year-old suspect waived a scheduled detention hearing Wednesday.
But Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem did hear arguments on whether the public should be allowed at Nov. 18 hearing to determine whether the teen should be tried in an adult court for the death of Elizabeth. Beetem made no immediate ruling.
