Thrill-Kill Teen Gets Life

A teenage girl who once faced first-degree murder charges for killing a 9-year-old neighbor just to see how it felt has agreed to a plea deal that gives her hope of one day being paroled. Alyssa Bustamante, 18, has been sentenced to life with the possibility of parole in the death of Elizabeth Olten in 2009.

Bustamante wrote in her diary that killing Olten was 'pretty enjoyable,' according to court records.

In February 2010, Bustamante's attorneys were arguing for a change of venue in her up-coming trial, but two years later after announcing that they planned to base their defense on the teen's use of the drug Prozac, Bustamante was offered a plea deal on second-degree murder and armed criminal action.

A Prozac Defense

Her attorneys were planning to argue that Bustamante, who suffered from depression for years and once tried to commit suicide by taking pain pills, was driven to violence by the Prozac.

When Elizabeth Olten (left) disappeared on October 21, 2009 while walking home from a friend's house it set off a massive search by hundreds of law enforcement personnel and volunteers near her St. Martins, Missouri home. Her body was found a week later in a shallow grave under a pile of leaves in the woods.

Bustamante led investigators to the grave site after confessing to the murder, police said.

It Was 'Pretty Enjoyable'

According to court records, the then 15-year-old described her feelings about cutting Olten's throat in her personal diary:

"I strangled them and slit their throat and stabbed them now they're dead," Bustamante wrote in her diary, which was read in court by a handwriting expert. "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."

Bustamante attended a youth dance at her church that night while a massive manhunt was underway for the missing 9-year-old Olten.

Asked For the Maximum

Olten's family members asked the court to sentence Bustamante to the maximum.

"So much has been lost at the hands of this evil monster," her mother, Patty Preiss said. "Elizabeth was given a death sentence, and we were given a life sentence."

Bustamante apologized directly to Olten's family during the sentencing hearing.

"I just want you guys to know that I really am sorry for everything," Bustamante said. "I know that words can never be enough and they can never adequately describe how horrible I feel."

See Also:
Teen Gets Life for Strangling, Stabbing Girl, 9

Background:
The Murder of Elizabeth Olten

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^{Photos: Mug Shot, Family Photo}