Murder of Elizabeth Olten

Alyssa Bustamante is an American woman who at the age of 15 was convicted of the murder of her 9-year-old neighbor Elizabeth Olten in St. Martins, Missouri.[1]

History

Elizabeth Olten, aged nine, lived four houses down from Bustamante. On October 21, 2009, Bustamante convinced her younger sister to bring Olten to the forest by their homes to play. Upon Olten's arrival, Bustamante strangled young Olten, slit her throat and stabbed her in the chest. Bustamante then buried Olten's body in a grave that she had dug 5 days before in the woods behind her house, and covered the grave with leaves.[2]

Perpetrator

Alyssa Dailene Bustamante's grandparents took legal custody of her and her three younger siblings in 2002, since her mother Michelle had addiction issues and father Caesar was serving time in prison.[3] Friends started noticing changes in Alyssa starting around 2007 when she was hospitalized after a suicide attempt.[3] On her YouTube profile, she listed "cutting" as her hobbies.[4]

After the murder, Bustamante wrote in her journal:[5]

I just fucking killed someone. I strangled them and slit their throat and stabbed them now they’re dead. I don’t know how to feel atm. It was amazing. As soon as you get over the “oh my god, I can’t do this” feeling, it’s pretty enjoyable. I’m kinda nervous and shaky though right now. Kay, I gotta go to church now lol.

She then attended a church dance (Bustamante was actively involved in her local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) while police searched for Olten.[3][4][6]

Trial, conviction and appeal

Bustamante first appeared in court on November 17, 2009, where she pled not guilty and was indicted on first-degree murder and armed criminal action (due to using a knife in the murder).[7] In January 2012, she took a plea deal to the lesser charges of second-degree murder and armed criminal action.[3] A few weeks later, she was sentenced to life imprisonment with the possibility of conditional release, and a consecutive sentence of 30 years.[8]

Her appeal against the sentence was denied in March 2014.[9]

The victim's mother, Patricia Preiss, agreed to settle the lawsuit she filed against Bustamante. The terms of the agreement require Bustamante to disclose any compensation from case coverage to Preiss [10]

Alyssa was seen by several mental health professionals, who all testified that she suffers from major depressive disorder and has borderline personality disorder.[11]

Alyssa's case was profiled in Deadly Women and On October 19, 2012, a thriller film loosely based on the case called My Name Is 'A' by Anonymous was released.[12][13] The murder was the topic of an episode of Kids Who Kill (season 1, episode 5).

References
  1. Horng, Eric; Ferran, Lee; Friedman, Emily (November 18, 2009). "Teen Murder Suspect Was Indicted, Wanted to Know 'What It Felt Like to Kill'". ABC News. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  2. Associated Press (July 25, 2017). "Woman reaches $5 million settlement in daughter's death". Springfield News-Leader. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  3. DeLong, William (November 13, 2018). "Alyssa Bustamante: The 15-Year-Old Who Slaughtered Her Nine-Year-Old Neighbor For The Thrill". All That's Interesting (PBH Network). Retrieved July 14, 2019.
  4. O'Connor, Maureen (November 20, 2009). "Confessed Teen Killer's Social Networking Hobbies: 'Killing People'". Gawker. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
  5. McCarty, Melissa (March 20, 2017). "Diary of a 'thrill-kill': Missouri teen Alyssa Bustamante murders neighbor girl, records event in journal". True Crime Daily. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
  6. Crimesider Staff (February 6, 2012). "Alyssa Bustamante called killing 9-year-old 'enjoyable,' then went to church". CBS News. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
  7. Machetta, Jessica (November 18, 2009). "Judge enters not guilty plea for Bustamante". Missourinet. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
  8. "Alyssa Bustamante Verdict: 'Thrill Killer' Gets Life With Possible Parole For Killing 9-Year-Old Elizabeth Olten". HuffPost. February 8, 2012. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
  9. "Mo. judge denies teen killer's appeal for new trial", CBS News website, March 11, 2014
  10. https://fox4kc.com/news/jefferson-city-woman-reaches-5m-settlement-with-inmate-in-killing-of-9-year-old-daughter/] "Jefferson City woman reaches $5M settlement with inmate in killing of 9-year-old daughter", Fox 4, July 25, 2017
  11. Associated Press (February 7, 2012). "Prosecutors: Prozac no defense for Mo. teen killer". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  12. Moore, Debi (September 7, 2014). "My Name Is A By Anonymous Finally Gets Distro!". Dread Central. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  13. "My Name is 'A' by Anonymous". IMDb. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
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