Teenage 'thrill killer' must spend at least 35 years behind bars for choking and stabbing her nine-year-old neighbor, as judge denies new trial

Alyssa Bustamante was 15 when she killed neighbor Elizabeth Olten, nine, and buried her in the Missouri woods in 2009



She wrote in her diary that it was 'ahmazing' and 'pretty enjoyable'



She was initially charged with first-degree murder with a mandatory life sentence

She accepted a plea deal in 2012 and sentenced to 35 years jail

Several months later, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled juveniles can't face automatic life sentences without the possibility of parole

At a court hearing in January, the now 20-year-old Bustamente testified that she wouldn't have accepted the plea deal if she'd known about the national legal change

A judge has now denied a new trial saying the evidence against her was strong and her attorneys weren't incompetent

Jail time: A judge has denied a new trial for Missouri's Alyssa Bustamante (pictured)

A judge has denied a new trial for a young Missouri woman who pleaded guilty to murder for the slaying of a nine-year-old neighbor girl but later sought a do-over because of a U.S. Supreme Court case invalidating mandatory life sentences for juveniles.

Alyssa Bustamante was 15-years-old in 2009 when she killed Elizabeth Olten and buried her in a wooded area west of Jefferson City.

Bustamante wrote in her diary that it was an 'ahmazing' and 'pretty enjoyable' experience.

She originally was charged with first-degree murder, which would have carried a mandatory life sentence without parole.



But shortly before her 2012 trial, Bustamante pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and armed criminal action.



She was sentenced on the murder charge to life in prison with the chance of parole, plus 30 years for the other charge.

Several months after Bustamante pleaded guilty, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a separate case that juveniles cannot face automatic life sentences without the possibility of parole.

Bustamante then got a new attorney, who claimed her original public defenders were ineffective.



At a court hearing in January, the now 20-year-old Bustamante testified that she wouldn't have accepted the plea deal had she known about the possibility for the nation's high court to wipe out mandatory life sentences for juveniles convicted of murder.

But Charles Moreland, one of her original attorneys, testified that they had talked to her about the issues pending before the Supreme Court.



He said Bustamante 'stood a very strong risk of being found guilty' by jurors of first-degree murder had she not pleaded guilty to the lesser charge.

Cole County Circuit Judge Pat Joyce wrote in a decision dated Thursday, but released today, that Bustamante's request to set aside her guilty plea and sentence was 'meritless' and her original attorneys weren't deficient.

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Horrific: Alyssa Bustamante was 15 (left) when she strangled, stabbed and buried her nine-year-old neighbor Elizabeth Olten (right) because she wanted to know what it felt like to kill

Joyce, who also presided over Bustamante's original case, wrote that the evidence against her 'was both strong and aggravating'.

The judge found that Bustamante would have pleaded guilty to second-degree murder 'regardless of the advice of her attorneys, and her testimony otherwise is not credible'.

An attorney for Bustamante did not immediately return a telephone message Monday.

Cole County Prosecutor Mark Richardson said Monday that Bustamante had committed 'an adult-like crime' and received 'an adult-like punishment', which he said was appropriate.

'Just because that sentencing hearing went badly for her in terms of more years than maybe she expected, that's not a reason for a judge to allow a defendant to withdraw their plea,' Richardson said.

Morbid fascination: Bustamante had attempted suicide and cut herself before the murder



Under Missouri guidelines, Bustamante must serve at least 35 years and five months before being eligible for parole.

Evidence presented during Bustamante's 2012 sentencing hearing revealed she had dug a shallow grave in the woods several days before the slaying and used her younger sister to lure Elizabeth with an invitation to play.



Bustamante said she had a surprise for Elizabeth in the forest but instead strangled her, sliced her throat and stabbed her.

After hundreds of volunteers searched for two days, Bustamante led authorities to Elizabeth's buried body about a half-mile from Bustamante's house.



Prior to receiving her life sentence in February 2012, Bustamante said to the family of her victim: 'If I could give my life to bring her back, I would. I just want to say I'm sorry for what happened. I'm so sorry.'



The teenager's defense attorneys had argued for a sentence less than life in prison, saying Bustamante's use of the antidepressant Prozac had made her more prone to violence. They said she had suffered from depression for years and once attempted suicide by overdosing on painkillers.



But prosecutors sought a longer sentence, describing the teen as a thrill killer who lacked remorse.



They noted that Bustamante had dug two graves several days in advance, and that on the evening of the killing had sent her younger sister to lure Elizabeth outside with an invitation to play.

Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt David Rice testified that the teenager told him 'she wanted to know what it felt like' to kill someone.



Over the course of the two-day hearing, the court heard the girl's family's history with drug abuse, mental disorders and suicide attempts, noting her father was in prison and her mother had abandoned her.



Various mental health professionals testified that Bustamante suffers from major depression and displays the features of a borderline personality disorder. Some also said she showed early signs of a bipolar disorder.



Bustamante began taking the antidepressant drug Prozac after a suicide attempt on Labor Day 2007 at the start of her eighth grade year.



Her dosage of the medication had been increased just two weeks before she murdered Elizabeth.

Bustamante's attorneys presented evidence from a psychiatrist who testified that Prozac could have been a 'major contributing factor' in the slaying — a theory rejected by a prosecution psychiatrist who insisted there was no scientific evidence of Prozac causing homicides, or even increasing aggression.

Life behind bars: Alyssa Bustamante was sentenced to 35 years jail in 2012



At the time of the killing, 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.

Lies: Bustamante suggested to police at the time of the the killing her victim may have been kidnapped



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 October 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.

Prosecutors said Bustamante plotted Elizabeth's death, even digging two holes to be used as graves, then attended school for about a week while waiting for the right time to kill.



Hundreds of volunteers searched for two days for Elizabeth before her body was found.

On a now-defunct YouTube page in her name, one of Bustamante's hobbies were listed as 'killing people'.