JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A Missouri teenager who admitted stabbing, strangling and slitting the throat of a young neighbor girl wrote in her journal on the night of the killing that it was an “ahmazing” and “pretty enjoyable” experience — then headed off to church with a laugh.
The words written by Alyssa Bustamante were read aloud in court Monday as part of a sentencing hearing to determine whether she should get life in prison or something less for the October 2009 murder of her neighbor, 9-year-old Elizabeth Olten, in a small town west of Jefferson City.
Bustamante, 18, sat silently — occasionally glancing at those testifying about her, often looking down or to the side — as law enforcement officers, attorneys and forensics experts read aloud her inner most thoughts that she had recorded as a 15-year-old high school sophomore.
The most poignant part of Monday’s testimony came when a handwriting expert described how he was able to see through the blue ink that Bustamante had used in an attempt to cover up her original journal entry on the night of Elizabeth’s murder. He then read the entry aloud in court:
“I just f——— 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 ahmazing. As soon as you get over the “ohmygawd 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.”
The journal entry was presented to the judge not long after Elizabeth’s mother and other relatives pleaded with Cole County Circuit Judge Pat Joyce to impose the maximum sentence. Bustamante pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and armed criminal action last month and faces at most a sentence of life in prison with a chance for parole. The least she could get is 10 years.
Elizabeth’s mother, Patty Preiss, described her daughter as “happy, little girl,” when she left her home about 5 p.m. after begging to go play with Bustamante’s younger sister. Preiss said she told Elizabeth to be back for dinner at 6 p.m. but never saw her again.
“So much has been lost at the hands of this evil monster,” Preiss tearfully said, with Bustamante sitting several feet away. “Elizabeth was given a death sentence and we were given a life sentence.”
With Bustamante looking at her, Preiss said: “I hate her, I hate everything about her.” The judge cut off her testimony when she described Bustamante as “not even human.”
FBI agents seized the journal from Bustamante’s bedroom during a search of her family’s home the day after Elizabeth went missing as hundreds of volunteers scoured the rural area around St. Martin’s.
Bustamante suggested to FBI and the Missouri State Highway Patrol officials that the girl had probably been kidnapped and that whoever had done so deserved to be convicted.
At one point, law enforcement officers discovered a hole in the ground in the shape of a shallow grave near Bustamante’s home. They testified that Bustamante acknowledged digging it but said she just liked to dig holes. It was only later that Elizabeth’s body was found concealed under leaves in another grave in the woods behind the Bustamante home.
At a hearing in 2009, Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. David Rice testified that the teenager told him “she wanted to know what it felt like” to kill someone.
Defense attorneys Monday highlighted Bustamante’s troubled childhood as part of their argument about why she should receive leniency. They referred to numerous references in her journal in the two months before the murder, describing her suicidal feelings and the urge to hurt herself and others.
At one point Bustamante had written that she intended to burn down a house and kill all the occupants, but she never followed through with that. On Oct. 14, one week before Elizabeth’s slaying, Bustamante had written that she was unable to use her cell phone because the charger had died, which meant she couldn’t talk to anyone about the depression and rage she was feeling.
“If I don’t talk about it, I bottle it up, and when I explode someone’s going to die,” she wrote in a journal that was read to the court by her defense attorney, Charlie Moreland.
Very evil person!!!
Let’s hope the court doesn’t mistake her youth as reason to unleash her onto the world. She may be a serial killer if she gets the chance.
What a sweetie…I’m sure she didn’t mean it…She was just kidding around…Let her go…
Well, since they won’t sentence her to death, life in prison has to be it. She is clearly evil, no doubt a sociopath. Her and society will never mix.
A person can’t be a sociopath until they turn 18 years old…right now it would be Conduct Disorder which is very similar to Antisocial Personality Disorder, but exclusive to minors.
She is 18, she was 15 when she committed the crime.
Either they updated the story or I somehow missed that. At the time of the crime she would NOT fit the diagnostic criteria for Antisocial Personality Disorder simply due to her age. At this point, she most likely does. Thanks for pointing out her current age.
I have to ask, What does the age of the subject have to do with the diagnosis? Or is a legal boundary for sentencing purposes? I would think that APD could manifest itself at age 15 or 18.
There are diagnostic criteria that has to be met for any diagnosis and in order to be diagnosed with Antisocial Personality Disorder a person MUST be 18 years old. If they aren’t 18 yet but meet the other criteria they would almost always be diagnosed with Conduct Disorder instead. The criteria for all disorders are listed in the Diagnostic Statistical Manual, 4th Edition that is written, maintained and updated by the American Psychiatric Association. This manual was created to ensure consistency in diagnosing illnesses.
Semantics…….ok, if it pleases you, wait until she is 18 and THEN call her a sociopath. I have met kids before who no doubt in my mind are sociopaths (call ’em what you want until they are 18, that’s fine). The end result is the same…….no affect, no emotion, no feelings, no remorse and will do it again when given the opportunity. We need to protect society from them.
It’s more than semantics. The DSM IV was created in order to ensure universal consistency in the diagnoses of disorders. If you look up the diagnostic criteria for Antisocial Personality it’s very clear that in order to have that diagnosis the subject MUST be at least 18 years old. I didn’t realize it at the time of my original post, but this girl is now 18 years old. She was 15 at the time of the crime. I’m pretty confident she fits the diagnostic criteria for Antisocial Personality Disorder now…but she didn’t at 15. One of the criteria for APD is criminal behavior as a child/teenager, usually with a Conduct Disorder.
Her “disorder” is that she is pure evil, it’s that simple. She has no redeeming value to society and should be wiped off the face of the earth. Let her explain herself to her Maker.
It’s actually very important to society to understand these disorders because in doing so you can spot problems early enough to actually prevent harm to others. Had those around this girl understood Conduct Disorder and been familiar with the symptoms and likely outcome they would have realized just how urgent it was to get her some help immediately. If she had of gotten that help back then when the symptoms first appeared that little girl would still be alive. How you (or anyone) could discount the importance of proper diagnosis and treatment of any disorder when it could save lives is really beyond me.
She’s 18 now. No question over her antisocial/sociopathic personality disorder. Probably doesn’t feel any remorse. Lock her up, there’s no cure for sociopaths!
Third paragraph in story says she’s 18.
Yes, I realize that now. Even so…she committed the crime at age 15, and at the time of the crime she was not a sociopath. No one can be diagnosed as one until they are at least 18 years old. I’m sure she fits the diagnosis now…she just didn’t at the time of the crime. Conduct Disorder is often just as bad, especially the most severe cases.
Yes, she is clearly an evil person and deserves to be put away forever.
I think that its sad , really , I mean clearly there are some serious mental issues and have been for a long time in her life. She may have intended what happened to happen , but how can she be the only one responsible , what about her parents , obvioulsy she should have been supervised much better and had some serious mental health counselling , but maybe her issues have been overlooked , she may have killed someone , but it seems to me that it may not have been completely her that is to blame. I am highly doubtful that in prison or a detention center she has gotten the care that she needs to help her through her life.Many people go into the system young and mentally seem to stay the same age their whole lives , she obviously must have some traumatic events in her life that led her to do something so horrific. I have countlessly pointed out to many people children need supervision and guidence growing up , maybe her parents were a little lacking in that department , usually the problems originate in the home. Maybe she is a victim herself. So in closing , yes she did wrong , she has to live with that the rest of her life , But she needs help…the prison system doesnt always privide the best mental or physical health facilities , hopefully she will get the help that she needs , otherwise she is going to live a tortured life and life in jail is hard enough on its own.
….
You may be right but she got that way from WHAT? I think that needs to be looked at. Are there other kids that are being brought up in the same house she was brought up in? If so maybe they should be evaluated.
really..?? Are you blaming the parents for her actions? Do you have the whole story about her past? If so, please share!
born bad? it happens
Conduct Disorder. I’d almost bet my life on her having it. It’s the absolute worst thing a child could have.
The biggest cause of conduct disorder is lack of a boot in the BUTTOCKS and parental guidance when needed !
Normally I would agree with your statement—-But this one is pure evil, inside and out!
I totally agree with her being evil, The sad part is if she had gotten the family life she should of had she most likely wouldnt be in this position !
You’re quite wrong. I have extensive experience with conduct disorders and an authoritarian parenting style only makes it worse.
Ok so lets give her a time out and take her ipod away !
Oh, yeah, great, blame the parents. Always their fault, isn’t it? Some people are just broken, and sadly, we do not have the tools to fix them. They should be removed from society permanently, one way or another, so they do no more harm.
“Ahmazing .. going to church … lol” I’m surprised the church didn’t crumble when she walked in. A child is gone forever because some stupid teen wanted to feel “Ahmazing”. Sick, just SICK.
She is obviously mentally ill , and that in itself is torture , I know she did something wrong but she isnt the only one and if she doesnt get help, she isnt ever going to know what its like to be halfway normal , I guess in your book instead of the loss of the life that she has taken , two lives should be lost and she should live a tortured and abused life. She was still a child and her parents need to be evaluated too , what if the have other children in their homw , maybe they have the same problems , I wasnt saying she shouldnt be punnished , I was saying she needs mental help , I must be crazy thinking that maybe helping her would benefit the people who she has to be around every day and the staff at the prison , lets just let her stay the way she is , the way that made her commit this horrific crime , that will teach her a lesson , Jeez some people really need to wake up and see that this country is sick and our health care is not up to par in prisons and jails. Yes she should be in jail , to be punnished for her crime , but she should still get help to see that she doesnt hurt anyone else or herself while she is in prison.
I agree with you on this on, she doesn’t have a conscious. She’s mentally ill, but there MIGHT be help for her. If people really want to try to understand something like this watch “Child of Rage” it comes on HBO but it’s also on Youtube… a 3 part documentary on a young girl that was so badly abused sexually, physically, verbally/emotionally by her father that she never learned how to love or trust. She wanted to stab her brother/ adopted mom and dad with pins and needles. Torturing the family pets and killing baby birds in a nest. Babies and toddlers need to have the feeling of being loved and learn to trust to become law abiding citizens. Yes, she did kill a small child which is completely horrid and I couldn’t image being in their families shoes.. but also the parents and family of the 18 year old. There is help available for it… just people need to stop being so closed minded and watch what they say. If this was your child… you’d be looking at all these comments so differently.
This girl is lost. She MIGHT have had a chance to respond to help when the signs first appeared that there were problems. At this point, though, this girl cannot be put back into society…not ever. She WILL kill again if given the opportunity. I’m all for rehabilitation whenever it’s possible, but this girl will NEVER be able to function in society safely and the realistic chances of her being helped is virtually none. It’s terribly sad that she wasn’t helped many years ago when there was a chance to help her. It’s too late for her now.
LACK OF PARENTAL GUIDELINES AND BOUNDARIES BEING ESTABLISHED WHEN THIS GIRL WAS AGE APPROPRIATE !
You’re wrong. That kind of attitude is part of the problem. The parents of children with conduct disorders need extensive help and support. These children are NOT easy, even when young and even with incredible parents. You have absolutely NO CLUE. I can tell just based on how you talk that you would never be able to handle one of these children productively. They would identify your buttons and push them repeatedly within 5 minutes and you’d just be a form of entertainment and reward the negative behavior.
And its up to the parents, seeing how they are adults to have gotten the support for their daughter early on when SHE needed it !
Then let her move into your home.
There’s no fixing this. Let’s make sure this kid stays locked up forever.
..
This girl needs deliverance from demons in the Name of Jesus! Laugh, make fun, but that’s just what it is. She’s possessed with devils. Jesus came to give us life, but the thief (Satan) comes to kill, to steal, and to destroy. John 10:10. I feel so sorry that he’s destroyed two young girls lives. We can label her, come up with all sorts of psychologial diagnoises, but all she is demon possessed.
As you show in your statement…Religion and reality are not a good marriage.
well… except the labels are based in reality.
sky wizards and magic words are not going to help
This girl needs deliverance from demons in the Name of Jesus! Laugh, make fun, but that’s just what it is. She’s possessed with devils. Jesus came to give us life, but the thief (Satan) comes to kill, to steal, and to destroy. John 10:10. I feel so sorry that he’s destroyed two young girls lives. We can label her, come up with all sorts of psychologial diagnoises, but all she is demon possessed.
No devil or Satan made her do this and she is not possessed by a demon. She most likely calls herself a Christian.
She want to church after, could’ve had a preacher like Carlson?
I agree—A whole lot of evil, demented things are done by people claiming to be Christians!
Gee ! I bet it was almost as exciting as the violent games you play on your PS 3 , X-BOX 360 and every other video game with high resolution graphics that glorify your skill to kill ! Only difference is , in real life the characters dont come back to life !
Don’t even go there. It’s a stupid argument.
Exactly, because we all know that humans have only been killing each other since PAC MAN was invented.
Killings have been on longer than pac-man but what you two dont get is respect for life has dwindled at a faster rate since video games glorify your kill skills . More people who dont want there god given right to play useless trash all day long !
Look up Conduct Disorder. It has nothing to do with video games.
Conduct disorder is listed with the warrior gene , two current names just invented to justify shorter jail sentences !
Conduct Disorder is listed in the Diagnostic Statistical Manual, clearly explained by the American Psychiatric Association…an organization filled with many people with PhD’s who know far better than you do.
I dont think we need a manual to tell us whats wrong with this child !
If there’s any possibility for parole then she should be sentenced to a mental health hospital for long term treatment. If she gets a jail sentence with parole and no help then think of what kind of a monster she’ll be when she gets out. God help us all!!!
Most likely a very severe case of Conduct Disorder. There really isn’t much hope for this girl to get better. There may have been a chance had she gotten help when the symptoms first began to appear. For all those who like to toss around the sociopath label…this girl will fit the diagnosis the second she turns 18 years old. Until then it would be Conduct Disorder. A person has to be an adult to be diagnosed with Antisocial Personality Disorder.
I’ll bet she won’t be laughing so much when she’s in general population.
I hope the BDN will follow up and tell us the sentence that the court imposes.
Have you ever set up a Google news alert? I find them extremely helpful when there’s a story like this one that I want to hear more about once new, specific information gets released.
Here’s a link to set one up for the sentencing info for this case: http://www.google.com/alerts?t=1&q=%22Alyssa+Bustamante%22+%22sentenced+to%22&hl=en
Hope that helps!
-Duncan
Thank you. Following your suggestion, I have done that. It must be a hot item because all I had to do was type “al” into the Google news search block and Alyssa Bustamante was auto completed as one of the choices. I don’t think, after reading some of the other news about Bustamante, that she’s going to get a life sentence.
Let’s get out the Taxpayer Official Deep Pocket Calculator
She will not get a mandatory life sentence in prison.
She will get 20-life.
She will be released within 20 years.
20 times $35,000.00 = $700,000.00
The 20 years to life sentence has no grounding in reality, is arbitrary and has no significance
in whether this girl would re-offend if released from prison tomorrow or 20 years from now.
Does anyone want to check out the sentence BP Petroleum got , you know that person BPersonhood,
from the US Supreme Court ruling that a corporation is a person. You remember BP from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the thousands of people who will die from the pollution, eh?
http://www.thetotalcollapse.com/obama-allows-oil-giant-bp-back-in-gulf-after-whistleblower-killed-in-shark-attack/
How many countries in the world execute juveniles? Your suggestion is distasteful at best.
She “executed” a juvenile, didn’t she? I am quite sure it was real pleasant for that poor 9 year old child, and I’m sure that the victim’s parents are comforted by the fact that the girl who killed their daughter isn’t evil- she just has a “disorder”. What a bunch of crap.
we can’t afford life in prison execute her.
I hear you in Maine. Saw you in church on Sunday asking Jesus to help find you
a job and forgive your sins.
Hang with me a minute here and just answer one question.
If someone did that (what this perp is charged with) to your mom or sister
what would you do to them?
I know you didn’t ask me, but if it were my mom or sister(or daughter, of which I have two) I would let the judicial system handle it. It’s not for me to seek retribution. The “they’ve got to be made to pay” attitude is nothing but detrimental to our existence as a moral society.
I personally would expect my family member to face the highest of consequences. I can’t imagine what kind of person would want them out in the world if they think it’s FUN to kill a child… or any other human being. I’m kind of scared there are people in the world like YOU that find it excusable… just my humble opinion.
Bella my post was a Trojan Horse used to illustrate a point I will now try to make.
The belief system I work with in looking at crime and punishment includes the concept of reincarnation.
What this means is:
1. I accept the science that now exists proving reincarnation is a reality for humans.
2. Some people do reincarnate with the sole purpose of extracting revenge for something done to them in a previous life..
I also would point out that if someone is murdered they are not the only ones who might seek revenge in the next life.
I would include family members and friends that might want a piece of the perp next time around.
I might add that some individuals might not be satisfied with getting revenge just one time but might seek revenge for multiple lives.
So I try to be careful when I see a crime committed by the person in this story.
Yes I am not always successful before I catch myself worked up in a rage wanting retribution.
But the universe has taught me it has its own way of bringing justice and balance to what humans do to each other.
WOW!
ugh!
Well looks like Gallant wins the BDN Retribution Poster Child award
again though in all fairness Gallant did say if it was his daughter or sister charged
with the crime he would suggest restitution and community service for their sentence.
This is one of those instances where euthanasia is most fitting… I don’t believe this girl is a criminal and should spend forever in prison… it would accomplish nothing… she is an example of a mentally damaged individual who cannot be fixed… very sad.
She is crazy for feeling this way. Kind wonder what her up bringing was like. No one noticed something wrong through out the years of her life growing up.
If she really believes in church and the Bible and thought it mattered that she go to church after killing another child for a thrill… They should set her penalty by the old testament standard of what was done with rebellious children who could not be controlled. Deuteronomy 21:18-21
Thats sick.. i hope she gets life in prison.
Some people are just bad. If this all had more to do with her childhood leading up to the crime, why no remorse, she doesn’t even care that she tortured and murdered another human being. Definitely a sociopath. I hope the victims’ family can find some peace eventually.
horrifying…
Special place in hell for this one…..
This is the true definition of a monster… The only fair way for this to play out is to let that little girls family get their REVENGE. Jail is a joke… Free food, Free TV, Free Rent…. yeah SMH
It is sad that a young person is so violent and I am sorry but she should be executed asap regardless of her age! I hate states that will go to great lengths to protect someone that has performed such a horrific crime yet would not hesitate to kill a dog that attacked and bit someone!
what i cannot understand is why the taxpayers, including the victim’s family are responsible for paying for her heat and food.
I think we should FORCE the families of the prisoners to pay 100% of their keep. This MIGHT give families some incentive to bring their kids up right… but now the monster is no longer the responsibility of mom and dad.
and any one who is against abortion really needs to ask whether this “person” was ever worth being brought into the world. I have a feeling that mom never loved her.
Force families of criminals to pay? Makes good sense, then when they run out of money they can jump on the welfare rolls.
We should also deny offspring of criminals constitutional protections. Keep them out of our schools, deny them citizenship. Maybe we shouldn’t even let them associate with our extra good children. That’ll fix ’em.
The death penalty will prove to much more kind to her than that petrified 9yr old baby she killed. She is defective. People who are capable of such things can not be rehabilitated.
I find it amazing that the vast majority of people in the world have no problem with millions and millions of young men in uniform killing each other for the glory of it all – and these patriotically conditioned lemmings are all made into heroes for doing it. And yet a single little girl in the world who is not in uniform killed for the same thrill and she is declared a “nut case” by those who make comments. Truly amazing.
She’s not a nut case. She is extremely dangerous, though, and sadly it is too late to fix that. If given the opportunity she WILL kill again. It’s too bad that nothing can be done to help her, but that is the reality.
Seems to me we have enough heinous crimes here in Maine to worry about; why do we need to import these types of horror stories from other states?
I shut off my computer and pulled the blinds after reading this!
If you parents dont teach and guide your children guess what happens ? Society and everybody who is affected and comes in contact with her in later years have to . Why does everybody have to put a label on a child who has been let down by lack of parenting ? I know why, because we live in a world where its easier to blame something or someone for the problems that we create ! Raising a child properly is more than just putting a roof over their head and food in their mouth !
The murdered child’s mother is right—This person is simply not human!!—How in the name of God could a teen girl do this horrific thing, if she was a normal human?? Sick
She is perfectly human. She merely did something that boys in uniform have done millions of times. And if you have no idea of how many people are murdered in country on an annual basis, take a look at the FBI website. We average about 20,000 murders per year in the U.S. alone. Most of you people who post here seem to have a problem putting things in numerical perspective. Most of you comment as though you are driven by emotion rather than by facts.
Sorry to dispute you, Bill—The boys in uniform do a job, no matter how distasteful it might be at times!! And I can tell you, I’ve been around many years, enough to know all the things you printed here!!–What has “driven” me to the comment I made, was the sickness of the crime against a little girl, and the pleasure of the so-called human that committed it—–What if it had been your child that was murdered??
omg things i could say about that thing who killed a innocent girl
Want justice? Strangle her, slit her throat and then stab her. What a piece of human garbage.