9-Year-Old Girl Murdered by Teen Neighbor ‘Just to Know What Killing Felt Like’

Elizabeth Olten was a 9-year-old girl from St. Martins, Missouri, whose shocking disappearance and murder in 2009 made national headlines. On October 21, 2009, Elizabeth vanished while walking home from a friend’s house just a few doors down. After an intense 48-hour search by law enforcement and volunteers, her body was found buried in a shallow grave in a wooded area near her home. The disturbing twist? Her killer was 15-year-old neighbor Alyssa Bustamante, who later admitted to brutally strangling, stabbing, and slitting Elizabeth’s throat — all just to know what it felt like to kill someone.This chilling true crime case shocked the nation due to the age of both the victim and the killer, and the cold-blooded motive behind the murder. Alyssa Bustamante had a documented history of depression, self-harm, and dark, violent thoughts posted online before the crime. In 2012, she was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years, plus an additional 30 years for armed criminal action. The murder of Elizabeth Olten remains one of the most disturbing child murder cases in true crime history, often searched under terms like “teen killer,” “Alyssa Bustamante case,” and “child murder solved.”