A teenager from Jefferson City, Missouri was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole Tuesday after confessing to the murder of a 9-year-old neighbor.
Alyssa Bustamante, 18, pleaded guilty in January to second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the October 2009 murder of Elizabeth Olten in St. Martins, a small town west of Jefferson City. According to MSNBC, Bustamante wanted to know how it felt to kill someone.
Bustamante was 15 when she confessed to strangling Olten, stabbing her in the chest multiple times and slicing her throat. Bustamante led police to the shallow grave where Olten was buried under leaves in nearby woods.
According to YahooNews, Bustamante spoke in court Tuesday saying, “I know words can never be enough and they can never adequately describe how horribly I feel for all of this.”
Defense lawyers argued that Bustamante’s use of the antidepressant Prozac led her to violence.
Prosecutors, however, noted that Bustamante had dug two graves days in advance.
Bustamante wrote in her diary after the murder, “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.”