Alyssa Bustamante is a killer from Missouri who would plead guilty to the murder of nine year old Elizabeth Olten
According to court documents Alyssa Bustamante wanted to know what it felt like to kill someone. The teenage girl would dig two graves inside of a wooded area and attempted to lure the two victims into the woods. However the potential victims refused to follow her
Alyssa Bustamante would then focus on nine year old Elizabeth Olten. Alyssa would lure the little girl into the woods where she would fatally stab the little girl
Alyssa Bustamante would be arrested, pled guilty to murder and was sentenced to life in prison
Alyssa Bustamante Current Information
| DOC ID | 1234604 | ||
| Offender Name | Alyssa D Bustamante | ||
| Race | White | ||
| Sex | Female | ||
| Date of Birth | 01/28/1994 | ||
| Height/Weight | 5’5″ / 151 | ||
| Hair/Eyes | Black / Blue | ||
| Assigned Location | Chillicothe Correctional Center | ||
| Address | 3151 Litton Road, Chillicothe, MO 64601 | ||
| Assigned Officer | Phone Number | (660) 646-4032 | |
| Sentence Summary | Life (Life + 30 CS) | ||
| Active Offenses | MURDER 2ND DEGREE; ARMED CRIMINAL ACTION | ||
| Completed Offenses | Completed sentence not found | ||
| Aliases | Alyssa Dailene Kemp; Alyssa Dailene Bustamante; Alyssa Daileen Bustamante; Alyssa D Bustamante | ||
Alyssa Bustamante Case
A Missouri teenager who told authorities that she strangled, cut and stabbed a 9-year-old neighbor because she wanted to know what it felt like has pleaded guilty in the girl’s death.
Alyssa Bustamante pleaded guilty to second-degree murder Tuesday in the October 2009 killing of Elizabeth Olten in a rural town just west of Jefferson City.
A state Highway Patrol officer testified that Bustamante confessed to strangling Elizabeth, cutting her throat and stabbing her because she wanted to know how it felt. Authorities say Bustamante led them to the girl’s body in the woods near her home.
Bustamante’s guilty plea included a chilling admission in court about how it happened.
Bustamante answered “yes” repeatedly Tuesday when asked if she understood that she was giving up her right to a trial. The judge then asked Bustamante to describe the killing.
Alyssa Bustamante looked at the judge and said she stabbed young Elizabeth Olten in the chest.
The judge asked if Bustamante cut the girl’s throat. Asked if she knew what she was doing, the teen said yes. She said she used a knife and strangled the victim with her hands.
At that, the victim’s mother, sitting in court just a few feet away, took a deep breath and dabbed her eyes with tissues.
Alyssa Bustamante was charged as an adult with first-degree murder and had been scheduled to be tried as an adult later this month.
Reaction from the victim’s family
Olten’s relatives are disappointed by a plea agreement that could allow her confessed killer to be released from prison someday.
An attorney for Olten’s mother says the family does not believe justice was fully served Tuesday when Bustamante pleaded guilty to killing the girl in October 2009.
Bustamante originally had been charged with first-degree murder, which carries a sentence of life in prison without parole. She pleaded guilty to an amended charge of second-degree murder, which is punishable by 10-to-30 years in prison or life with the possibility of parole. A sentencing hearing is set for Feb. 6.
Attorney Matt Diehr says Elizabeth’s mother and other relatives plan to “continue to seek justice” by any legal means available.
Mo. teen pleads guilty to killing 9-year-old girl | STLPR
Alyssa Bustamante News
The brutal 2009 murder of Elizabeth Olten has continued to haunt a Missouri community, partly for the crime itself but also for the motive.
The reason Elizabeth’s teenage killer committed the crime, she said, was that she wanted to know what it felt like to kill.
The shocking case was in the news again earlier this summer when the killer, Alyssa Bustamante, who was 15 at the time of the slaying, was denied a chance at parole.
The murder, and Bustamante’s attempt at getting released, ultimately compelled lawmakers to change Missouri’s state laws regarding underage criminals convicted of murder when Gov. Mike Parson signed legislation for which Elizabeth’s family had advocated.
Here’s what happened:
Elizabeth’s Murder
Patty Preiss called police on Oct. 21, 2009 after her 9-year-old daughter never returned to the family’s St. Martin’s, Mo., home from visiting a friend’s house that evening. Police eventually found the young girl buried in a shallow grave with her throat cut. She had been stabbed and strangled, according to local Fox 2.
The Disturbing Motive
Police were led to Bustamante after finding “written evidence” at the crime scene that implicated the teenager — who was a neighbor of Elizabeth’s — in the murder, according to ABC News’ reporting at the time. After an investigation, authorities also uncovered Bustamante’s social media pages, which included references to wanting to know what it was like to kill someone, as well as a diary in which she confessed to the crime.
“I just f—— killed someone,” the teenager wrote in her diary, according to ABC. “I strangled them and slit their throat and stabbed them now they’re dead. I don’t know how to feel atm [at the moment].”
She added: “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.”
Investigators interrogated Bustamante for more than two hours while she confessed to the crime. The teenager’s grandmother was in the interrogation room the moment her granddaughter admitted to the murder. The grandmother burst into tears and ran out of the room in shock.
Bustamante was sentenced to life in prison in 2012 after pleading guilty to second-degree murder, according to local KOMU.
“The world lost an innocent little girl who hoped to be a teacher and a veterinarian,” her family said in a statement, according to the outlet, adding that Bustamante’s sentencing was “extremely difficult” for them to sit through.
How the Case Changed Missouri Law
New legislation signed in the summer of 2024 would appear to cement Bustamante’s life sentence for good.
Because Bustamante was a juvenile at the time of the killing, she was eligible for parole due to a 2014 U.S. Supreme Court ruling. According to CNN, the court ruled 5-4 that no juvenile could be sentenced to life in prison without the chance at parole – even for murder. However, state lawmakers in Missouri passed a bill in 2021 that said that ruling does not apply to juveniles who committed first-degree murder.
In 2024. Pason signed legislation expanding on that law to include juveniles convicted of second-degree murderers, according to local ABC 13. Elizabeth’s family had advocated for that legislation.
Elizabeth Olten Was Murdered by Alyssa Bustamante, Diary Revealed Confession