The Troubled Teen Who Thought Murder Was Fun

15-year-old Alyssa Bustamante slit a little girl’s throat and then wrote about how she enjoyed it

The case of Alyssa Bustamante remains one of the most chilling among child murderers because of her victim’s age and the nature of the killing. Alyssa was only 15 years old when she committed the brutal and senseless murder of a little girl. The worst part of the case was that Alyssa enjoyed killing and even wrote down that “it was amazing.”

Alyssa was obviously a troubled teen but what drove her to commit the horrendous crime? This is her story.

A turbulent life

Alyssa was born on 28 January 1994 to her parents Ceaser and Michelle Bustamante. It was not a happy birth. Her father was a violent man who was in prison for assault and her mother was also in trouble with the law for theft and drug possession.

Due to the unstable family life, Alyssa’s grandparents decided to obtain legal custody and raise Alyssa and her three siblings by themselves. In 2002, Alyssa started living with her grandparents in St. Martins, Missouri. Her grandparents hoped that living in a stable household would be good for Alyssa and her siblings.

On the surface, Alyssa seemed to live a normal life. She was described as a pretty teenager and the girl next door. She went to church and she was actively involved in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. However, Alyssa had a dark side.

Alyssa suffered from depression but it wasn’t the minor depression that most teenagers had to put up with as part of their growing pains. Alyssa’s depression was deep and she was obsessed with death. She started self-harming and was even suicidal. She also started showing signs of mental disturbance. On her YouTube page, she wrote down that her hobbies included “cutting” herself and “killing people.”

Alyssa’s grandparents even took her to a psychologist and she was prescribed medication and anti-depressants. However, the medication did not really work in Alyssa’s case. When she was 15, she started thinking about what it would feel like to kill someone and the perfect target was her little neighbor, 9-year-old Elizabeth Olten.

The murder of Elizabeth Olten

Elizabeth lived four houses down from Alyssa. She often played with Alyssa’s younger sister, six-year-old Emma.

In October 2009, Alyssa started planning a murder. She dug two graves near her house in readiness for her victim. She was looking for an easy target and Elizabeth fit the bill because she was a little girl who trusted her neighbors and could easily be lured away.

In the early evening of October 21, 2009, Emma knocked on Elizabeth’s door asking her to come out and play. Elizabeth’s mother agreed to let her daughter outside for an hour.

During the hour, Elizabeth played with Emma. Then Alyssa also joined them even though it might have seemed weird for an older teen to join two younger children. Eventually, Emma left for home while Alyssa lured Elizabeth into the woods by telling her that she had a gift for her.

Once Alyssa had Elizabeth all to herself, she murdered her by strangling her, stabbing her in the chest, and then slitting her throat. She buried Elizabeth in one of the graves that she had dug several days earlier and buried the site with mud and leaves.

When she got back home, she wrote in her diary,

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. — Alyssa’s diary

When Elizabeth never showed up after having gone out to play, her mother called the police. Soon, a full-scale search was initiated with the police, FBI agents, and local residents combing the woods for the missing child.

Investigators also questioned Elizabeth’s playmate, Emma, and she revealed that Alyssa had been with Elizabeth. At the same time, investigators found an empty grave that Alyssa had dug up for her victim. When they questioned Alyssa, they became suspicious because she acted evasively and told them that she had dug up the grave for fun.

The FBI obtained a search warrant for Alyssa’s home and that was when they discovered that they were not dealing with an ordinary teenager. Alyssa’s room was disturbing with strange drawings and scribblings covering the wall. They also found her diary with the description of the murder.

Alyssa eventually confessed to the murder and led the officers to the grave where she had buried Elizabeth.

Conclusion

Alyssa was diagnosed with major depressive disorder and borderline personality disorder.

Although she expressed regret for the murder after she was caught, prosecutors claim that she had planned the murder carefully by digging the grave several days earlier and intentionally luring Elizabeth into the woods.

In January 2012, Alyssa was charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action. She had turned 18 years old by then. She was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of conditional release after 30 years.

Sources: Murderpedia, Crime and Investigation, Film Daily, Wikipedia

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