Mo. teen pleads not guilty to killing 9-year-old neighbor

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - A 15-year-old Missouri girl pleaded not guilty Tuesday to killing a 9-year-old neighbor who authorities say was slain because the teen wanted to know what it felt like to kill someone.

Alyssa Bustamante sat silently as an attorney entered a not guilty plea on her behalf to first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the Oct. 21 death of Elizabeth Olten.

Bustamante often gazed down – her long bangs covering her eyes, her hands and feet shackled – during a Cole County court hearing that lasted less than a minute.

Authorities say Bustamante plotted Elizabeth’s slaying – digging two holes several days in advance – then strangled her without provocation, cut the girl’s throat and stabbed her.

They say Bustamante led officers to Elizabeth’s body in a wooded area near the girls’
homes after hundreds of volunteers helped in a two-day search for the missing fourth-grader. The girls lived several houses apart in St. Martins, a small town just west of Jefferson City.

During a court hearing last month, Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. David Rice testified
that Bustamante had confessed to the killing to investigators.

“Ultimately, she stated she wanted to know what it felt like,” Rice said.