Elizabeth Olten, allegedly murdered by a 15-year-old (AP/Cole County)
The standard operating procedure grows gruesomely familiar: child is reported missing; family, friends, police and volunteers urgently begin the search; and authorities initiate an investigation.
The scenario never seems to end well.
When nine-year-old Elizabeth Olten did not return home from a neighbor’s house on October 21, hundreds of people began combing her St. Martins, Missouri neighborhood.
After two days of searching a heavily wooded area near her home, police received – according to information provided by the truecrimereport website – a handwritten note that lead them back to the house where Elizabeth was last seen.
After interviewing the 15-year-old girl who resides in the house – now identified as Alyssa Bustamante – authorities were taken to the already-searched woods and shown the body of Elizabeth Olten. She had been strangled, slashed across the throat and stabbed.
Police arrested Bustamante and charged her with first-degree murder. The juvenile is also charged with armed criminal action for allegedly using a knife in the attack
In a Jefferson City courtroom today, after a Missouri State Police officer testified the 15-year-old told investigators she killed her young neighbor because she wanted to know how it felt to kill someone, a grand jury indicted her on the murder charge.
Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem ruled that the slaying was vicious, and that the teenager should be tried as an adult, maintaining the state has no adequate facilities or services to treat the suspect if she stayed in the juvenile court system.
Bustamante, the older sister of the girl Olten was visiting that evening, also told investigators she had dug two holes nearly a week before the murder with the intention of burying the nine-year-old.
Prosecutors are pointing to this admission as proof the killing was premeditated.
According to the Associated Press, Juvenile defense attorney Kurt Valentine argued that Alyssa would either kill herself or be assaulted and killed by others if she were placed with adults in a jail cell while awaiting trial or in a prison if convicted.
“We are throwing away the child and we are signing a death sentence for Alyssa,” Valentine told AP. “She is not going to survive her time in the Cole County jail.”
Juvenile officers testified that Bustamante previously considered committing suicide and had been receiving treatment for depression for a few years before allegedly killing Elizabeth.
Bustamante has been held without bail in the Cole County jail since her arrest.
If convicted of first-degree murder, the teen could be sentenced to up to life in prison.
If convicted of first-degree murder, the teen could be sentenced to up to life in prison.
Which is how it should be,,,she planned this and did it because she wanted to see what it felt like.....
Quoting tericared:
If convicted of first-degree murder, the teen could be sentenced to up to life in prison.
Which is how it should be,,,she planned this and did it because she wanted to see what it felt like.....
I agree. It was premeditated and she knew exactly what she was doing.
i agree,
Quoting tericared:
If convicted of first-degree murder, the teen could be sentenced to up to life in prison.
Which is how it should be,,,she planned this and did it because she wanted to see what it felt like.....
\"They dont have to understand you, be still, wait & know, I understand you,.. .i love you please see & believe again" Flyleaf
Quoting themountainmama:
It was premeditated in the underdeveloped mind of a child. Heinous? Yes. Premeditated? Yes. Lock her up and throw away the key? No.
Sorry, but a 15 year old knows perfectly well what is wrong and what is right! She planned it like an adult, carried it out like an adult and she should have to pay for the crime like an adult.
I hate how they lock up violent juvenile offenders just until they are 18 or 21 and then set them free on society. To me, that's not paying for the crime they committed.
Quoting themountainmama:
It was premeditated in the underdeveloped mind of a child. Heinous? Yes. Premeditated? Yes. Lock her up and throw away the key? No.
Yeah I doubt elizabeths parents will agree with you. When I first moved to florida about 15 yrs ago there was an 8 yr old girl that disappeared while she was at a neighbors house playing. Her name was Maddie Clifton. It turns out that her 15 yr old neighbor named Joshua Phillips ended up strangling her and stabbing her. He hid her body under his bed until his mom found the little girls body in the base of his water bed. These kids know exactly what they are doing. When you are 15 yrs old they know right from wrong and I'm tired of adults like you making excuses for them. She planned this murder on this little girl and she deserves to get punished for what she did. I hope they lock her up and she sits in that cell and think about what she did everyday for the rest of her life.
Quoting IhartU:
...“We are throwing away the child and we are signing a death sentence for Alyssa,” Valentine told AP. “She is not going to survive her time in the Cole County jail.”
Juvenile officers testified that Bustamante previously considered committing suicide and had been receiving treatment for depression for a few years before allegedly killing Elizabeth.
Bustamante has been held without bail in the Cole County jail since her arrest.
If convicted of first-degree murder, the teen could be sentenced to up to life in prison.
I read that bolded bit and can't help but wonder if she's on psychotropic meds. It wouldn't surprise me if her brain chemistry is way off.
Peace,
Kat
Quoting ameliasmommy221:
Quoting themountainmama:
It was premeditated in the underdeveloped mind of a child. Heinous? Yes. Premeditated? Yes. Lock her up and throw away the key? No.
Yeah I doubt elizabeths parents will agree with you. When I first moved to florida about 15 yrs ago there was an 8 yr old girl that disappeared while she was at a neighbors house playing. Her name was Maddie Clifton. It turns out that her 15 yr old neighbor named Joshua Phillips ended up strangling her and stabbing her. He hid her body under his bed until his mom found the little girls body in the base of his water bed. These kids know exactly what they are doing. When you are 15 yrs old they know right from wrong and I'm tired of adults like you making excuses for them. She planned this murder on this little girl and she deserves to get punished for what she did. I hope they lock her up and she sits in that cell and think about what she did everyday for the rest of her life.
Actually, you don't know if the mom agrees with me or not, unless she has made a statement publicly to inform you (the general public). Maybe she does agree with me.
Was she born psychotic or did something break this girl? Before we hang her out to burn I personally would like to know her past. It doesnt take much to change our psyche........Yes she should be held accountable. But, we also need to find out what the hell is happening to our future adults..........dont you want to know?
Good question. Anyone have a guess?
- IhartU
on Nov. 22, 2009 at 5:17 PM