15 y/o Girl kills her 9 y/o neighbor to "know what if feels like"

[rambone]

Missouri teen said she killed neighbor, 9, because she 'wanted to know what it felt like'

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Blessed with a Friday off school, 15-year-old Alyssa Bustamante dug two holes in the ground to be used as a grave, authorities said. For the next week, she attended classes, all the while plotting the right time for a murder, they said.

That time arrived the evening of Oct. 21, when Bustamante strangled 9-year-old neighbor Elizabeth Olten without provocation, cut the girl's throat and stabbed her, prosecutors said. Why?

"Ultimately, she stated she wanted to know what it felt like," Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. David Rice testified Wednesday during a court hearing over the slaying.

Rice, who interviewed Bustamante in the days after Elizabeth's disappearance, said she confessed to investigators and led them to the fourth grader's well-concealed body in a wooded area near their neighborhood in St. Martins, a small town west of Jefferson City.

A Cole County judge ruled Wednesday that Bustamante, who has been held in Missouri's juvenile justice system, should be tried as an adult. Hours later, the teen was indicted on adult charges of first-degree murder and armed criminal action for allegedly using a knife to kill Elizabeth. A judge later entered a not guilty plea on Bustamante's behalf and referred her to the public defender's office.

The court proceedings marked the first time that the suspect in Elizabeth's death had been publicly identified since a two-day search for the girl by hundreds of volunteers. When they found Elizabeth's body Oct. 23, authorities only said that a 15-year-old had led them to it and was in custody for the slaying.

Bustamante remained largely expressionless as she sat with her hands shackled around her waist in court Wednesday. She occasionally looked down beneath the brown bangs that covered her eyes and swallowed hard as a judge read the charges against her.

On one side of the courtroom sat her mother and grandmother, who has been Bustamante's legal guardian for about half of her life. On the other side sat Elizabeth's mother, relatives and friends, several of whom wore pink — Elizabeth's favorite color.

Bustamante was ordered held without bond pending her trial. If convicted of first-degree murder, she would be sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Witnesses at Bustamante's adult certification hearing described a girl who was bright yet depressed and clever in a sometimes sneaky sort of way. She ranked in roughly the top third of her class at Jefferson City High School, the principal said, and had been in no trouble at school or with the law.

Yet Bustamante had tried to commit suicide at age 13 and had been receiving mental health treatment for depression and cutting herself, said David Cook, the chief juvenile officer in Cole County. Once, she led her family to believe she was attending a local church event when she instead sneaked off to a concert in St. Louis, about two hours away, Cook said. On one or two other occasions, Bustamante spent the night in the woods without permission, he said.

After her arrest, Bustamante tried to cut herself with her own fingernails while being held in juvenile custody, said her appointed juvenile defense attorney Kurt Valentine.

He argued Bustamante should remain in the juvenile system, where she could potentially be rehabilitated before being set free by age 21. Valentine warned that Bustamante would either kill herself or be assaulted and killed by others if she were placed in an adult jail cell or prison.

"We are throwing away the child and we are signing a death sentence for Alyssa," Valentine said. "She is not going to survive her time in the Cole County jail."

Cole County Sheriff Greg White said later that Bustamante would be held at a different, undisclosed location.

Cook recommended Bustamante be tied as an adult. Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem agreed, saying the killing was vicious and that the state had no adequate facilities or services to treat Bustamante if she remained in the juvenile system.

Bill Heberle, with the Missouri Division of Youth Services, testified that the state has no secure facilities with fences for female juveniles. Youths in Missouri's juvenile system generally are housed in group settings and are not typically watched by staff 24 hours a day, he said.

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[wtfd661]

Thats sad. She should be tried as an adult and given life imprisonment when convicted. Sorry, but I guess then she will find out what it feels like. Prayers sent for the murdered victim and her family.

 

[CandRFan]

That's just horrible. Now she knows what it feels like. She also gets to know what facing the consequences of her actions feels like.

She should get life, just like any nut who would first dig a hole, plot the right time to commit murder and then further conceal the body "well." Her actions seem to be the perfect definition of pre-meditated murder. Just to show that I'm not a cold hearted person...maybe in 45-50 years she can face a parole board.

 

[HandK]

It is hard to even wrap ones mind around how anyone could be that cold and malice at 15 years old! where were her parents! and how was she rasied?. My heart goes out to the parents and family of Elizabeth Olten.

 

[Benny]

Since the worst possible punishment for her is life in prison, let's all hope that's what she gets.



I've had an enemy or two over the course of my life, but I've never came even close to wondering "what it would feel like," and that's someone I have a strong disliking for.

More than likely she'll be where she belongs for the rest of her natural life which is good...Unfortunately it came at the price of an innocent 9 year old child.

 

[ATF Consumer]

Thats sad. She should be tried as an adult and given life imprisonment when convicted. Sorry, but I guess then she will find out what it feels like. Prayers sent for the murdered victim and her family.

The boy should have been brought to trial for his crime, not excuted by his own father. The father should also be brought to trial for his crime and if or when convicted should receive the death penality. No matter what my kids do I could never even think of doing that, let alone hearing them say "no daddy, no" that just haunts me.

I'm a bit puzzled by this...can you explain why one should be put to death, while the other just get life.

 

[Bruenor]

I'm a bit puzzled by this...can you explain why one should be put to death, while the other just get life.

I think life in prison is the maximum possible penalty in this case.

I pray that one day she repents for her crimes. I can't imagine what is going on in her mind.

 

[Benny]

I think life in prison is the maximum possible penalty in this case.

I pray that one day she repents for her crimes. I can't imagine what is going on in her mind.

Didn't even have to read the whole article to know this, just 5th post.

 

[Bubba]

maybe in 45-50 years she can face a parole board.

If she truly has so little empathy in her that she would consider pain and death for the other girl a fair trade for indulging her curiosity, she sounds like one of the more dangerous types of sociopath. I'm not convinced parole is an option I'd be comfortable with.

ETA: It is my belief that identification with one's own species is a trait that is set at birth and thereafter hardwired. If she can't muster enough self-awareness to put herself in her victim's shoes for even one moment over the course of the week or more she plotted this I can't bring myself to believe any amount of therapy can cure her.

 

[theweakerbrother]

Wow. Just wow. What's wrong with people?

 

[tatters]

Maybe I'm not reading this right, but it seems to me they are painting the 15 yo as a victim of society, more or less. That drives me nuts!!!

 

[Bigum1969]

Sad case. Sounds like she came from a broken home with her grandmother having custody a lot of the time. You gotta wonder what triggers this level of deviance???

 

[CandRFan]

If she truly has so little empathy in her that she would consider pain and death for the other girl a fair trade for indulging her curiosity, she sounds like one of the more dangerous types of sociopath. I'm not convinced parole is an option I'd be comfortable with.

Yeah, I understand exactly what you're saying. I guess I was just trying to take into account the immaturity of a 15 year old kid??? Believe me, I don't believe that that is an excuse for what she did.

 

[MACHINEGUN]

Just when you think you've heard it all.. you really haven't.

 

[Cygnus]

This wreck of a person should get life. I'm sorry but her tragic upbringing does not excuse premeditated murder in any way.

In the other case you guys are referring to life is the max in Michigan. First demoacracy to abolish the death penalty. THere was talk of reinstating it bit it has not come to a vote.

 

[BloodEclipse]

Since the worst possible punishment for her is life in prison, let's all hope that's what she gets.


.

If convicted of first-degree murder, she would be sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Missouri doesn't have the death penalty?
She is being tried as an adult.

 

[opus1776]

If they ever let this animal out, there is a >99% chance that she will become a serial killer based on her statements. If she killed once to see what it is like, she'll want to do it again to get the 'high".....

 

[hookedonjeep]

Sorry, but I don't think that life in prison is fair enough...... she should be put down like a rabid dog. If she planned it out with that level of malice - and then went through with it - she deserves nothing short of a firing squad. Taking innocent life for no reason other than "I wanted to see what it felt like" just doesn't cut it. She is not a victim of society, only a victim of her own bad choices - for which an innocent child paid the ultimate price. It may sound cold, but if the shoe fits......

 

[spasmo]

That is just extremely sad. You have to wonder what makes a person feel like that. Is it the way their brain thinks or was it the way they were brought up. I can't believe it's necessarily the way they are brought up because I know each person is their individual self. Environment certainly is a factor at times. I just feel so bad for that little 9 year olds family. I can't even imagine nor do I want to.

 

[2ADMNLOVER]

IMO , by your teen years you have a pretty good grasp of right and wrong , whether it comes from parental guidance , school or the TV .

I see nothing wrong with putting her down like a rabid animal .