Missouri vs. Alyssa Dailen Bustamante
Missouri vs. Bustamante is among the famous crimes cases in Cole County, Missouri State, in the USA. The crime was classified as a homicide. It involved Bustamante, a teen of fifteen years, who brutally killed Olten Elizabeth, a nine-year girl in the neighborhoods. On 21st October 2009, Bustamante was alleged to have strangled Olten, slit her throat, and stabbed her severally in the chest, which Bustamante affirms that they were six stabs (Blanco, 2016). She then buried Olten in a grave that she had dug almost five days ago in the woods behind her house and covered it with leaves.
Olten had left the house with Emma, one of Bustamante’s siblings, to go out and play. According to the investigations, Bustamante had sent Emma to go and pick Olten to play in their home. She had a plan already to execute the young girl without revealing to her sister, Emma. By 6:00 pm, Patty, Olten’s mother, calls the neighbor home, and they tell her she was not there. Patty knew there was something wrong and called the police.
Cole County Sheriff’s Department arrived on the scene after 15 minutes. Teams of concerned residents, local law enforcement agencies, and other neighbors join the search with no success. After a long search without any hopes of getting Olten, the investigators conduct the Cell Phone Company and orders for an ’emergency ping.’ With the Ping, Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. David Rice was sure of locating Olten’s phone since the mother had affirmed that she had left with her phone. Unfortunately, the ping showed a large wooded area behind her house, which is a thick forest.
The following day, the investigators called for a backup from the neighboring law agencies for the search of the missing person. They also reported the case with the FBI. Planes, helicopters, dog teams, dive teams for the ponds, and rivers were all brought forth in efforts to find Olten’s body. After 24 hours of search, Patty and Sgt. Rice question Emma, who had gone to pick Olten at their home to play (CBC News, 2014). She told them and the FBI that they were playing and in about an hour Olten left for their home. During the search, all the children in the neighborhoods are accounted for except Bustamante.
As the search continues in the woods behind Bustamante’s house, some of the local volunteers helping in search stumbled across something in the backwoods, which they described as a grave. While Sergeant Rice and his forensics team are at the scene of incidence, FBI agents walk Bustamante to the scene. She affirmed that she dug the grave to bury any animal she would find dead.
The FBI finds a search permit to search Bustamante home. In the teen’s bedroom, Richardson, an investigator that was assigned to search the room, reveals that there are disturbing writings on the wall of the room (McCarty, 2017). Some are in a pen while others are in the blood. In one corner, there is a poem about cutting involving a knife or a razor blade. Additionally, Jennifer Meyer, one of Bustamante school’s friend, reveals that Bustamante was a sadist and talked about suicide a lot. She also said that Bustamante had several attempted suicide.
Further, the FBI agent sports a diary of Bustamante in the bedroom. The journal has disturbing entries like the burning of houses and the killing of people. The last entry of the diary was recorded on Wednesday, 21st October. It read, “I just f***ing killed someone. 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].” Bustamante and her grandmother are then taken into the interrogation room by the FBI investigators.
Based on the investigations, this crime is a crime of passion. The perpetrator had a passion for killing. She purposely dug a grave to bury any animal that she could kill or find dead. In her diary, she explains the ordeal as amazing and pretty enjoyable (McCarty, 2017). Though she is shaky and nervous, she goes to church. Therefore, it was a crime done in passion.
Offender’s Background Investigation
Bustamante was the offender in the case. She was 15 years when the crime occurred. Bustamante and her three other siblings reside with her grandmother. Their father is detained in prison, and her mother is an addict. Therefore, there are possibilities that Bustamante might be having mental issues that affect her behavior. It is from her room investigation that revealed a lot about the offender. There are disturbing writings on the walls (McCarty, 2017). Others are in a pen while others are in the blood. On another wall, there is a crude sketch of a person. The arms and the head of the sketch appear to be sliced, and below it, there is the name of Bustamante’s younger sister. Her diary reports that cutting is part of her hobby. It also included disturbing incidences of burning houses and killing a person. On her Youtube page, she had recorded killing people and cutting as her interests and hobbies.
In another incidence on the school bus, she had threatened to shoot her classmate. According to the investigations, a week before she killed Olten, she had recorded in her journal that if she doesn’t talk about it, she bottles it up, and when she explodes, someone would die. Further, during her 15th birthday party, while hanging up with her best former friend, Jennifer, She confines in her friend that she wonders how it would feel like killing someone and watch life drains out of someone. Additionally, during investigations, Jennifer revealed that Bustamante had attempted several suicides in the year 2007 (McCarty, 2017). Jennifer also informed that she had a lot of scars on her wrists. Most probably, she could cut herself when she found no one to cut.
Though there is no enough evidence that Bustamante had mental health problems, her behaviors are wanting and could have developed depression due to her parent’s background. Her mother is a drug addict, and her father is in prison. In general, Bustamante has a history of violence. She has attempted several suicides. Her journal and diary entries show how violent she is. She records of burning a house, killing people, or cutting them. Due to the scars on her hand wrists, there are possibilities that she could cut herself to write the drawings on her wall that were written in blood.
Sentencing
Bustamante committed the crime when she was 15 years. At this age, it is clear that one knows what is right or wrong. She was aware of the crime she had committed. She pleaded not guilty at first meaning that she understood that what she had done was evil and could land her in jail. Secondly, Bustamante committed the crime willingly without any outside forces. She previously had a passion for killing and cutting people. She affirms that she sent her sister, Emma, to call Olten to come and pay with her. On her way home, she held the girl and led her to the woods where she committed the crime.
After two years and four months, the defense filed a motion to suppress Bustamante’s confession. Her defense team claimed that some of the questions administered to her were not in order according to the Missouri law since she is a juvenile (CBC News, 2014). Another blow that meets the prosecutors was the U.S supreme court, which was about to rule that life sentence for juveniles without parole was not constitutional. The prosecutors; thus, had to plea to the defense for murder in the second degree, which had a range of 10-30 years or life imprisonment with possibilities of parole.
Based on the shreds of evidence, provided, the possible punishment for the offender would be utilitarian. Since Bustamante is a juvenile, utilitarian punishment would seek to deter or discourage future wrongdoing. Under the utilitarian philosophy, utilitarian comprehend that no society is free from crimes, but they are endeavored to administer some form of punishment to offenders to prevent such atrocities from reoccurring.
Utilitarian punishment consists of deterrence and rehabilitation. There are two primary forms of deterrence; general and specific restriction. General dissuasion is administered to discourage other individuals from committing the same evil while specific deterrence is inflicted on an individual to prevent the same person committing a similar crime (Fousiani, Yzerbyt, Kteily, & Demoulin, 2019). On the other hand, rehabilitation punishment is administered to an offender to amend their behavior and change their thinking while within the confines of the law. Rehabilitative measures for offenders include; treatment of mental disorders, chronic violent behavior, and substance dependency (Sverdlik, 2017). It also includes educating the offenders while within the confine of law on educative programs that would provide them with skills and knowledge in the job market when they are freed.
Bustamante being a juvenile criminal, utilitarian punishment would serve her correctly. It would help her amend her behaviors, abscond violent characters, and acquire knowledge that she would use when she is freed. It would also be helpful for her since she would discourage her from committing the same crime in the future.
In conclusion, the Missouri vs. Alyssa Dailen Bustamante case is among the cases in Missouri State of a 15-year-old girl who murdered a nine-year-old girl, Olten Elizabeth. According to the investigations, Bustamante had a passion for committing murder. She wonders how she would feel thrilling someone’s life. However, her character might have been contributed to the fact that her mother is an addict, and her father is serving his jail term in prison. She strangles and stabs Olten in the woods. She buries her in a ditch she had dug five days ago with intensions of burying in a dead animal. She is interrogated and found guilty of second-degree murder. She is sent to jail for 30 years of life imprisonment with parole. According to Judge Beetem of Cole County Circuit, she has to compensate Patty, a $5 million-plus interest at 9% annually, until the debt is paid.
References
CBC News. (2014, 11th March). Mo. judge denies teen killer’s appeal for new trial. CBS News – Breaking news, 24/7 live streaming news & top stories. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/missouri-judge-denies-teen-killer-alyssa-bustamantes-appeal-for-a-new-trial/
Fousiani, K., Yzerbyt, V., Kteily, N. S., & Demoulin, S. (2019). Justice reactions to deviant ingroup members: Ingroup identity threat motivates utilitarian punishments. British Journal of Social Psychology, 58(4), 869-893.
Juan Ignacio Blanco. (2016). Alyssa Bustamante. Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers. https://murderpedia.org/female.B/b/bustamante-alyssa.htm
Melissa McCarty. (2017, 20th March). Diary of a ‘thrill-kill’: Missouri teen Alyssa Bustamante murders neighbor girl, records event in journal. crimewatch. https://truecrimedaily.com/2017/03/20/diary-of-a-thrill-kill-missouri-teen-alyssa-bustamante-murders-neighbor-girl-records-event-in-journal/
Sverdlik, S. (2017). Deterrent Punishment in Utilitarianism.