November 25, 2009 9:00 AM

Father of Alleged Elizabeth Olten Killer Alyssa Bustamante Has Violent Past

By
Sammy Rose Saltzman
Topics
Daily Blotter
(Facebook Photo)
Photo: Alyssa Bustamante's hand, as tagged on Facebook, mock-stabs a friend with a red-tipped knife.

NEW YORK (CBS) Alyssa Bustamante, the teenager who allegedly killed Missouri 9-year-old Elizabeth Olten, grew up in a turbulent household, say friends, and may not be the only Bustamante disposed to violence. Records show her father is a convicted felon.

PICTURES: Accused Teen Killer Alyssa Bustamante's Inner World

(facebook.com)
Photo: Alyssa Bustamante self portrait.

Police say Alyssa Bustamante strangled, stabbed and cut her next door neighbor Elizabeth Olten's throat in October, then, two days later, led police to the wooded grave where she allegedly buried her.

But long before the alleged murder, Alyssa Bustamante's home life was full of emotional torment, according to court records and friends, who say that Bustamante, 15, was mostly raised by her grandparents while her mother struggled with substance abuse and her father was in jail.

(Handout)
Photo: Murder victim Elizabeth Olten.

PICTURES: Accused Teen Killer Alyssa Bustamante's Inner World

Alyssa Bustamante's grandmother, Karen Brooke, became the girl's legal guardian when she was 7-years-old, according to court records obtained by the Jefferson City News Tribune. She also took on responsibility for Alyssa's two younger brothers, the paper said.

Meanwhile, Alyssa Bustamante's mother, Michelle Bustamante, struggled to pay rent and racked up three misdemeanor criminal convictions, including one for drunken driving and another for marijuana possession, according to court records obtained by the paper.

(Missouri Dept. of Corrections)
Photo: Ceaser Bustamante.

PICTURES: Accused Teen Killer Alyssa Bustamante's Inner World

Her father, 34-year-old Ceaser Bustamante, whose identity was confirmed by the Cole County Sheriff's Dept., is serving three concurrent prison terms for three counts of felony assault in Missouri Eastern Correctional Facility, according to a spokesperson for the Missouri Dept. of Corrections.

(AP Photo/Cole Cty. Sheriff's Dept.)
Photo: Alyssa Bustamante mug shot.

PICTURES: Accused Teen Killer Alyssa Bustamante's Inner World

Jennifer Meyer, a friend of Alyssa Bustamante's since middle school, told Crimesider in an exclusive Nov. 20 phone interview, that Alyssa's father had been arrested for "stabbing someone." Local police have not yet confirmed that detail to Crimesider.

Alyssa Bustamante also seemed to have a dangerous penchant for knives and cutting.

(Facebook Photo)
Photo: In this image, red cuts on Alyssa Bustamante's arm are clearly seen.

PICTURES: Accused Teen Killer Alyssa Bustamante's Inner World

According to the Associated Press, Bustamante listed her hobbies as "cutting" and "killing people" in her YouTube profile, which has since been taken down.

In a photo (left), obtained exclusively by Crimesider, a series of what appear to be self-inflicted red cut marks are visible from the top of Alyssa Bustamante's left wrist to almost halfway down her arm.

Another exclusive Crimesider photo (top) shows what appears to be Alyssa Bustamante's hand holding a knife that has something red on its blade. In the photo, the hand is mock-stabbing a friend in the stomach. The hand is tagged as Bustamante on Facebook and the nail polish and shirt sleeve match Alyssa Bustamante's appearance in other pictures in the group.

Alyssa Bustamante's friend Jennifer Meyer told Crimesider that Bustamante tried to kill herself several times since she was 11, and that one attempt involved cutting.

That seems to jibe with Alyssa Bustamante's court appointed juvenile justice officer, who, on Nov. 18, said Bustamante attempted suicide two years ago and had received both inpatient and outpatient mental health treatment for depression and cutting herself.

On Friday, Nov. 20, a judge ordered Bustamante to Fulton State Hospital for up to four full days of psychological evaluation.

If Bustamante is convicted of first-degree murder, she would face a sentence of life in prison without parole. A judge has entered a plea of "not guilty" on her behalf.

MEDIA
PICTURES: Accused Teen Killer Alyssa Bustamante's Inner World

MORE ON CRIMESIDER
November 23, 2009 - EXCLUSIVE: Alyssa Bustamante Friend Says She Thought About Killing
November 23, 2009 - EXCLUSIVE: Alyssa Bustamante Photos Reveal Inner Life of Accused Killer
November 20, 2009 - Alyssa Bustamante, Alleged Elizabeth Olten Killer, Listed "Killing People" as Hobby Online
November 20, 2009 - Elizabeth Olten Murder Suspect, Alyssa Bustamante, Sent to Mental Hospital
November 18, 2009 - Prosecutor: Bustamante Killed Because "She Wanted to Know What it Felt Like"
November 18, 2009 - Alyssa Bustamante to be Tried as Adult for Murder of 9-Year-Old Elizabeth Olten
October 26, 2009 - Elizabeth Olten Murder: Teen Arrested for Killing 9-Year-Old
October 23, 2009 - Elizabeth Olten's Body Found After Two Day Search for Missing Cole County, Missouri Girl
October 22, 2009 - Elizabeth Olten Missing; 9-Year-Old Disappears in Cole County, Missouri


Add a Comment See all 40 Comments
by amanduur September 3, 2010 2:44 AM EDT
I am praying that she will be tried as an adult and sent to prison for her life.
I'm sorry but it disgusts me that people think otherwise and want her to just "get help at a mental hospital."

I mean, would you want her to roam around the Earth freely when you know she VIOLENTLY murdered a little girl?
God knows if she would kill another human being if she was free.
I'd sure hate having her as my neighbor, especially if i had children.
Reply to this comment
by desmith04 September 3, 2010 1:12 AM EDT
She's a monster. She knew what she was doing and deserves what she gets.
Reply to this comment
by summerchic July 26, 2010 12:18 AM EDT
But, she is a child...she's 15 not an adult. I think we need to have laws for children that do these things cuz they are not adults. It's wrong and they souldn't be let out at 21 but they are not adults. This is horrible and so sad that a 15 year hold killed a 9 year. How does that happen? Worst, people blame her parents. We don't blame rich parents when their kids do wrong. Bottom line is people should be blamed for their actions, regardless of age, not their parents or others. She did this, at 15, and she is responsible....just like OJ. We don't his parents for the crimes he as committed.
Reply to this comment
by summerchic June 26, 2010 11:52 PM EDT
Why should hate be thrown at alyssa's family? They are not responsible for her actions. Her grandmother took her, her brother and sister in. She also has good family members that have been there for her. She did something horrible and will hopefully pay for her actions, but her family members are not to blame. Many people have had bad parents, childhoods, etcs but do not kill. Her actions are her actions only and not her family's actions.
Reply to this comment
by SuppLeanT5150 March 23, 2010 10:31 PM EDT
basically i want put something clearly,this girl is not serial killer and not a monster too!!! her just have mental problem.Her need help not the jail.Couples months agos i feel same way her,big problem control my anger and depression scrap my mind!!im ready do everything you have too much problem control this after.the poeple talk about monster *** you know nothing about this girl how hard its her life!!!i remember want kill someone just for know what felt like when you do this!!!!i remember i dont care about ages girl or boy!!!For me i control that but for some poeple he cant and im anti-social boy LoL yeah i thave good relationship with my mother i have couple friends but i cant broke this easely!!!by the way i hope the judge go help her not put her in a box for 40 years!!!its a little girl (kid) need help its what i want said free alyssa
Reply to this comment
by abbitha2122 December 30, 2009 10:52 PM EST
Some people say, oh well shes just a
kid and shes depressed and she didnt
know better... but im sorry but when you
dig a grave 5 days before the actual
murder.. you knew exactly what you were
doing.. shes not a kid. thankfully she is
being charged as an adult. But more
than anything i have to say right now is
My condolences go to the family of
the poor 9 year old girl who had to just be
randomly picked to be killed..The family
is in my prayers.

And alyssa.. why her.. why this girl? Why
did she deserve it.. she didnt.. The mom
did everything right too! she gave her a cell
phone, she knew where she was, only
1000 feet from the house?!!?... ughh.
My prayers are with elizbeth's family.

God bless them
Reply to this comment
by crime_blogger December 6, 2009 7:03 PM EST
I have been following this case really closely and I found this blog which has a great collection of links on Alyssa Bustamante and good coverage on the case-- as well as other crime news!

http://bedsidedetective.blogspot.com/
Reply to this comment
by JaneWilder December 4, 2009 9:53 AM EST
LIZZY BORDEN IN A BOTTLE ! ! !

This is a front line medical breakthrough. Where is Ely Lilly to take credit for their magnificient creation? This is the FIRST EVER in THE HISTORY of the WORLD PHARMACOLOGICALLY CREATED TEENAGE GIRL SERIAL KILLER!
Reply to this comment
by HazelEyedAthena November 30, 2009 8:59 PM EST
Incarceration of a parent is not an easy thing to deal with. You have the parent's infamy to deal with and it's hard to separate when people are looking at you and seeing you, and when they are seeing that parent. Things are now going to be doubly hard for her siblings, they can either buy into the head games and BS, or they can keep their heads down, work hard and build their own good reputations by which to be judged. I wish them all the best, their lives will suck for a while, but not forever.

The young woman herself should be locked up for a very long time, we don't need any more Huck'd up justice.
Reply to this comment
by sissyqu November 29, 2009 12:07 PM EST
well i guess we should forbid vampire lovers,now
Reply to this comment
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