Deadly Darlings: The Horrifying True Accounts of Children Turned Into Murderers
★★★ The scariest children you'll ever meet ★★★
If you've ever thought your child was bad, then you haven't seen anything yet! In the pages that follow, you are about to meet some of the most vicious children who ever lived.
The kids in this book are as young as ten-years-old and they are ruthless. The nice ones killed in cold blood—but many of these kids weren’t nice…they wanted their victims to suffer.
Some were turned killers by their brutal home environments; others were just inherently evil. They were all deadly darlings you’d never want to meet on the street.
If you've ever thought your child was bad, then you haven't seen anything yet! In the pages that follow, you are about to meet some of the most vicious children who ever lived.
The kids in this book are as young as ten-years-old and they are ruthless. The nice ones killed in cold blood—but many of these kids weren’t nice…they wanted their victims to suffer.
Some were turned killers by their brutal home environments; others were just inherently evil. They were all deadly darlings you’d never want to meet on the street.
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Excerpt
Introduction
We all know that murder is among the most terrible crimes a person can commit. Understanding and coping with murders committed by adults can be extremely difficult for even the most intelligent people. But when a child commits murder the crime becomes all the more terrible because it challenges our most basic ideas of innocence and humanity. Even seasoned law enforcement professionals, judges and prosecutors have a difficult time dealing with killer kids. Yet murder committed by children is not as rare as you might think. Children are capable of every kind of crime including robbery, sexually motivated killings and even child murder.
The savagery of children rivals and sometimes exceeds that of adult killers. Read on, and you will see a viciousness that makes the Lord of the Flies look like a Boy Scout gathering.
Alyssa Bustamante: Teenaged Thrill Killer and Church Goer
Introduction
Ignoring violent behavior on the part of children and teenagers is not a good idea. Most violent criminals, including many serial killers, get their start torturing and injuring animals, or worse, other children when they are kids. Many of them exhibit violent behavior long before they graduate to killing.
A typical example was Alyssa Bustamante, a 15-year-old Missouri girl who had been talking about, and in some cases, faking violent acts long before she slit her nine-year-old neighbor’s throat. This case proves that not doing anything about violent behavior or talk of violent behavior on the part of a child or teen can prove fatal.
The Thrill Killer Next Door
In some ways, Alyssa Bustamante was a normal teenaged girl; she liked writing in her diary, using Facebook, and going to church in her small town. Yet she was also a monster who stabbed and slit the throat of her nine-year-old neighbor.
The writings and photographs in Bustamante’s journal and posts on her Facebook page reveal that she was a real life Jekyll and Hyde, even though she looked like a normal teenager. Yet she was constantly writing about killing others and even planned to kill some of her classmates at the local high school. Alyssa also put on bizarre makeup to make herself look like a Death Metal singer or a serial killer.
Pictures from the journal also show Bustamante about to stab a boy with what looks like a hunting knife while another boy holds him down. YouTube videos she posted online show her attempting to electrocute her own brothers.
A Day off from School Leads to Murder
On Friday, Oct. 17, 2009, Alyssa Bustamante had the day off from school. She spent part of her time off digging two graves in the woods near her house. Alyssa used the graves on Oct. 21, 2009 when nine-year old Elizabeth Olten disappeared.
Bustamante saw Olten, her neighbor, walking home and grabbed her off the street. Alyssa then beat and stabbed Olten before slitting her throat. Once she was done with Olten, Bustamante buried her in one of the graves she had dug in the woods.
Incredibly, Bustamante then went home and wrote in her journal that killing was an amazing and pretty enjoyable experience. Then, like a true psychopath, Bustamante headed off to church. Since it was Friday night, Bustamante was probably attending a youth group. Obviously she wasn’t a very devout Christian, even if she was a regular church goer.
A Mysterious Case and Did Alyssa have Help?
There are some mysteries about the case; Alyssa apparently did a good job of hiding the body. Authorities were unable to find it in their initial search, even though they were led to the right location by the GPS in Elizabeth’s cell phone. The search party might have walked right over the body.
Instead, detectives were led to Alyssa Bustamante by a mysterious letter that fingered her as the killer. This sounds like Alyssa either had help burying the body or showed somebody else where it was. Her accomplice or friend then turned her in with an anonymous letter.
When investigators finally confronted Bustamante, she confessed to the crime and led them to the body. How police were able to get her to confess is not known, but they might have already had evidence.
One disturbing possibility is that somebody who may have helped Alyssa commit the murder got away with it. Authorities might be covering for the other person in order to protect a child’s anonymity.
The Violent Monster in Plain Sight
One really frightening aspect of the case is that Alyssa Bustamante had a long and well documented history of violence and psychiatric problems long before the case. Pictures of her pretending to stab other teenagers with a knife and video of her encouraging her own brothers to touch an electric fence are posted online.
Alyssa even listed her hobbies as “killing people” and "cutting" on her YouTube account. She was apparently the one who posted the video where she tried to get her brothers to touch the electric fence and get hurt on YouTube. Violence also runs in Alyssa’s family; at the time of the murder, her father was serving a 10-year prison sentence for assault.
Bustamante was also apparently under the care of a psychiatrist or psychologist at the time of the murder. Testimony at court hearings revealed that Alyssa was taking the psychiatric drug Prozac at the time of the crime. The drug apparently did not help her and may have contributed to her crimes.
Did Prozac Turn a Teenaged Girl into a Killer?
At court in Jefferson City, Mo., Alyssa Bustamante pled not guilty to first degree murder. Her attorneys then attempted a very unusual defense that partially worked. They tried to blame her murderous behavior on the psychiatric drug Prozac.
An expert named Dr. Edwin Johnstone testified that Prozac and other similar drugs can cause murderous behavior in some people. This wasn’t the first time Prozac has been blamed for a teen murder; in 2011, in the Canadian province of Manitoba, Judge Robert Heinrichs ruled that Prozac caused an unidentified teen to stab 16-year-old Seth Ottenbreit to death. Prozac’s manufacturer and the Canadian government disputed the testimony that convinced Judge Heinrichs to make the ruling.
Bustamante pleaded guilty to second degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison without parole in 2011. The testimony prevented a trial in the case. Interestingly enough, news articles indicate that Missouri state law might enable Bustamante to get parole and walk free at some point because she was not sentenced as an adult.
Her case was aided by the judge, who ruled that part of her diary could not be entered as evidence at the trial. The judge may have thought that the journal entries and pictures of the girl might prejudice the jury against her.
Alyssa Bustamante Today
Alyssa Bustamante is currently serving her sentence in the Missouri state prison system. Even though she’s eligible for parole, she’ll probably never receive it. It’s doubtful that courts will release her without some sort of appeals court ruling.
Despite the claims that it can cause murderous rages, Prozac, or flouxetine, which changes the chemistry of the brain, is still widely prescribed. Only time will tell if the Bustamante case is an isolated incident or a warning about the potential side effects of a drug.
Bibliography
CBS News Staff. "Alyssa Bustamante Picture Gallery at 48 Hours website ." n.d. cbsnews.com. Online Picture Gallery and Commentary . 13 February 2013.
Crimesider Staff. "Alyssa Bustamante called 9-year old girl enjoyable then went to church." 6 February 2012. cbsnews.com. Online News Blog. 13 February 2013.
drugs.com. "Prozac ." n.d. drugs.com . Online Database Entry . 13 February 2013.
Fenske, Sarah. "Alyssa Bustamante: Prosecutors Can't Use Part of Killer Teen's Confession." 23 June 2011. blogs.riverfronttimes.com . Online News Blog . 13 February 2013.
Monacelli, Antonia. "Murderous Children: 15 Year Old Alyssa Bustamante Brutally Murdered a 9-year Old Girl ." 8 February 2012. antonia-monacelli.hubpages.com . Online Encyclopedia Entry . 13 February 2013.
Newcomb, Alyssa. "Teen Thrill Killer Alyssa Bustamante Could Get Paroled Today ." 8 February 2012. abcnews.go.com . Online News Article . 13 February 2013.
Turrene, Paul. "Teen murder case hinges on Proazac ." 4 August 2011. torontosun.com . Winnipeg Sun newspaper Article reprinted in Toronto Sun . 13 February 2013.
We all know that murder is among the most terrible crimes a person can commit. Understanding and coping with murders committed by adults can be extremely difficult for even the most intelligent people. But when a child commits murder the crime becomes all the more terrible because it challenges our most basic ideas of innocence and humanity. Even seasoned law enforcement professionals, judges and prosecutors have a difficult time dealing with killer kids. Yet murder committed by children is not as rare as you might think. Children are capable of every kind of crime including robbery, sexually motivated killings and even child murder.
The savagery of children rivals and sometimes exceeds that of adult killers. Read on, and you will see a viciousness that makes the Lord of the Flies look like a Boy Scout gathering.
Alyssa Bustamante: Teenaged Thrill Killer and Church Goer
Introduction
Ignoring violent behavior on the part of children and teenagers is not a good idea. Most violent criminals, including many serial killers, get their start torturing and injuring animals, or worse, other children when they are kids. Many of them exhibit violent behavior long before they graduate to killing.
A typical example was Alyssa Bustamante, a 15-year-old Missouri girl who had been talking about, and in some cases, faking violent acts long before she slit her nine-year-old neighbor’s throat. This case proves that not doing anything about violent behavior or talk of violent behavior on the part of a child or teen can prove fatal.
The Thrill Killer Next Door
In some ways, Alyssa Bustamante was a normal teenaged girl; she liked writing in her diary, using Facebook, and going to church in her small town. Yet she was also a monster who stabbed and slit the throat of her nine-year-old neighbor.
The writings and photographs in Bustamante’s journal and posts on her Facebook page reveal that she was a real life Jekyll and Hyde, even though she looked like a normal teenager. Yet she was constantly writing about killing others and even planned to kill some of her classmates at the local high school. Alyssa also put on bizarre makeup to make herself look like a Death Metal singer or a serial killer.
Pictures from the journal also show Bustamante about to stab a boy with what looks like a hunting knife while another boy holds him down. YouTube videos she posted online show her attempting to electrocute her own brothers.
A Day off from School Leads to Murder
On Friday, Oct. 17, 2009, Alyssa Bustamante had the day off from school. She spent part of her time off digging two graves in the woods near her house. Alyssa used the graves on Oct. 21, 2009 when nine-year old Elizabeth Olten disappeared.
Bustamante saw Olten, her neighbor, walking home and grabbed her off the street. Alyssa then beat and stabbed Olten before slitting her throat. Once she was done with Olten, Bustamante buried her in one of the graves she had dug in the woods.
Incredibly, Bustamante then went home and wrote in her journal that killing was an amazing and pretty enjoyable experience. Then, like a true psychopath, Bustamante headed off to church. Since it was Friday night, Bustamante was probably attending a youth group. Obviously she wasn’t a very devout Christian, even if she was a regular church goer.
A Mysterious Case and Did Alyssa have Help?
There are some mysteries about the case; Alyssa apparently did a good job of hiding the body. Authorities were unable to find it in their initial search, even though they were led to the right location by the GPS in Elizabeth’s cell phone. The search party might have walked right over the body.
Instead, detectives were led to Alyssa Bustamante by a mysterious letter that fingered her as the killer. This sounds like Alyssa either had help burying the body or showed somebody else where it was. Her accomplice or friend then turned her in with an anonymous letter.
When investigators finally confronted Bustamante, she confessed to the crime and led them to the body. How police were able to get her to confess is not known, but they might have already had evidence.
One disturbing possibility is that somebody who may have helped Alyssa commit the murder got away with it. Authorities might be covering for the other person in order to protect a child’s anonymity.
The Violent Monster in Plain Sight
One really frightening aspect of the case is that Alyssa Bustamante had a long and well documented history of violence and psychiatric problems long before the case. Pictures of her pretending to stab other teenagers with a knife and video of her encouraging her own brothers to touch an electric fence are posted online.
Alyssa even listed her hobbies as “killing people” and "cutting" on her YouTube account. She was apparently the one who posted the video where she tried to get her brothers to touch the electric fence and get hurt on YouTube. Violence also runs in Alyssa’s family; at the time of the murder, her father was serving a 10-year prison sentence for assault.
Bustamante was also apparently under the care of a psychiatrist or psychologist at the time of the murder. Testimony at court hearings revealed that Alyssa was taking the psychiatric drug Prozac at the time of the crime. The drug apparently did not help her and may have contributed to her crimes.
Did Prozac Turn a Teenaged Girl into a Killer?
At court in Jefferson City, Mo., Alyssa Bustamante pled not guilty to first degree murder. Her attorneys then attempted a very unusual defense that partially worked. They tried to blame her murderous behavior on the psychiatric drug Prozac.
An expert named Dr. Edwin Johnstone testified that Prozac and other similar drugs can cause murderous behavior in some people. This wasn’t the first time Prozac has been blamed for a teen murder; in 2011, in the Canadian province of Manitoba, Judge Robert Heinrichs ruled that Prozac caused an unidentified teen to stab 16-year-old Seth Ottenbreit to death. Prozac’s manufacturer and the Canadian government disputed the testimony that convinced Judge Heinrichs to make the ruling.
Bustamante pleaded guilty to second degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison without parole in 2011. The testimony prevented a trial in the case. Interestingly enough, news articles indicate that Missouri state law might enable Bustamante to get parole and walk free at some point because she was not sentenced as an adult.
Her case was aided by the judge, who ruled that part of her diary could not be entered as evidence at the trial. The judge may have thought that the journal entries and pictures of the girl might prejudice the jury against her.
Alyssa Bustamante Today
Alyssa Bustamante is currently serving her sentence in the Missouri state prison system. Even though she’s eligible for parole, she’ll probably never receive it. It’s doubtful that courts will release her without some sort of appeals court ruling.
Despite the claims that it can cause murderous rages, Prozac, or flouxetine, which changes the chemistry of the brain, is still widely prescribed. Only time will tell if the Bustamante case is an isolated incident or a warning about the potential side effects of a drug.
Bibliography
CBS News Staff. "Alyssa Bustamante Picture Gallery at 48 Hours website ." n.d. cbsnews.com. Online Picture Gallery and Commentary . 13 February 2013.
Crimesider Staff. "Alyssa Bustamante called 9-year old girl enjoyable then went to church." 6 February 2012. cbsnews.com. Online News Blog. 13 February 2013.
drugs.com. "Prozac ." n.d. drugs.com . Online Database Entry . 13 February 2013.
Fenske, Sarah. "Alyssa Bustamante: Prosecutors Can't Use Part of Killer Teen's Confession." 23 June 2011. blogs.riverfronttimes.com . Online News Blog . 13 February 2013.
Monacelli, Antonia. "Murderous Children: 15 Year Old Alyssa Bustamante Brutally Murdered a 9-year Old Girl ." 8 February 2012. antonia-monacelli.hubpages.com . Online Encyclopedia Entry . 13 February 2013.
Newcomb, Alyssa. "Teen Thrill Killer Alyssa Bustamante Could Get Paroled Today ." 8 February 2012. abcnews.go.com . Online News Article . 13 February 2013.
Turrene, Paul. "Teen murder case hinges on Proazac ." 4 August 2011. torontosun.com . Winnipeg Sun newspaper Article reprinted in Toronto Sun . 13 February 2013.
