After police exhumed her body from the trunk, they observed that Elsie Sigel had been strangled so viciously that the skin on her neck had been cut open. Because she’d decomposed and bloated so severely, they were initially unable to identify her. Across the floor of the apartment, hundreds of letters were strewn addressed to Ling from women throughout the city — 35 were from Elsie. Ultimately, despite their reluctance to accept their daughter’s fate, Paul and Anne Sigel confirmed that it was in fact Elsie who’d been found dead in the trunk. The smoking gun evidence was her bracelet, inscribed with her initials, that police found in a drawer in Ling’s apartment (via New York Daily News). 

The hunt for Elsie’s killer was on. Chu Gain was apprehended and brought in for questioning, but the prime suspect was Leon Ling. Additionally, authorities commenced pursuit of Chong Sing, Ling’s neighbor who disappeared after the murder scene was discovered, and Willie Leon, a friend of Ling’s who was confirmed to have also had intimate relations with Elsie (per New York Daily News).