Despite a guilty plea by teen thrill killer ALYSSA BUSTAMATE, who confessed to strangling, cutting and stabbing a 9-year-old girl because she wanted to know how it felt to kill, she was sentenced to life in prison — with the possibility of parole.
As The ENQUIRER reported previously Alyssa Bustamante, 18, pleaded guilty in January to second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the 2009 slaying of Elizabeth Olten, 9, in St. Martins, a small rural town near Jefferson City, Missouri.
SHOCKER! TEEN GIRL KILLED 9 YEAR OLD FOR THRILL
Bustamante was 15 years old when she confessed to strangling the child, repeatedly stabbing her in the chest and slicing the girl's throat.
After her arrest, she led cops to the shallow grave where she had concealed Elizabeth's body under a shroud of leaves in the woods.
Bustamante’s defense attorneys had argued for a sentence less than life in prison, claiming Bustamante's use of Prozac, an antidepressant, made her prone to violence.
They also claimed she had suffered from depression for years and once attempted suicide by overdosing on painkillers.
But prosecution wasn’t buying – and wanted life.
In their argument, they pointed out Bustamante had dug two graves several days in advance, and 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 in court that the Bustamante told him "she wanted to know what it felt like" to kill someone. Prosecutors also cited journal entries in which Bustamante described the exhilaration of killing Elizabeth.
"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."
The victim’s parents are said to be outrage at the thought of Bustamente having the possibility of parole.
FYI: Charles Manson, Sirhan Sirhan and Mark David Chapman among other convicted killers remain eligible for parole. They don’t get out
