About 3% of me was in awe while reading this story. The rest of me wasn't surprised.

[[link bar is being a dickweed]] http://news.aol.com/article/alyssa-bustamante-15-charged-as-adult-in/772912?icid=main|main|dl2|link5|http%3A%2F%2Fnews.aol.com%2Farticle%2Falyssa-bustamante-15-charged-as-adult-in%2F772912

Girl, 15, Charged as Adult in Murder

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (Nov. 1  - Blessed with a Friday off school, 15-year-old Alyssa Bustamante dug two holes in the ground to be used as a grave, authorities said. For the next week, she attended classes, all the while plotting the right time for a murder, they said.
That time arrived the evening of Oct. 21, when Bustamante strangled 9-year-old neighbor Elizabeth Olten without provocation, cut the girl's throat and stabbed her, prosecutors said. Why?
"Ultimately, she stated she wanted to know what it felt like," Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. David Rice testified Wednesday during a court hearing over the slaying.

Rice, who interviewed Bustamante in the days after Elizabeth's disappearance, said she confessed to investigators and led them to the fourth-grader's well-concealed body in a wooded area near their neighborhood in St. Martins, a small town west of Jefferson City.
A Cole County judge ruled Wednesday that Bustamante, who has been held in Missouri's juvenile justice system, should be tried as an adult. Hours later, the teen was indicted on adult charges of first-degree murder and armed criminal action for allegedly using a knife to kill Elizabeth. A judge later entered a not guilty plea on Bustamante's behalf and referred her to the public defender's office.
The court proceedings marked the first time that the suspect in Elizabeth's death had been publicly identified since a two-day search for the girl by hundreds of volunteers. When they found Elizabeth's body Oct. 23, authorities only said that a 15-year-old had led them to it and was in custody for the slaying.
Bustamante remained largely expressionless as she sat with her hands shackled around her waist in court Wednesday. She occasionally looked down beneath the brown bangs that covered her eyes and swallowed hard as a judge read the charges against her.
On one side of the courtroom sat her mother and grandmother, who has been Bustamante's legal guardian for about half of her life. On the other side sat Elizabeth's mother, relatives and friends, several of whom wore pink — Elizabeth's favorite color.
Bustamante was ordered held without bond pending her trial. If convicted of first-degree murder, she would be sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Witnesses at Bustamante's adult certification hearing described a girl who was bright yet depressed and clever in a sometimes sneaky sort of way. She ranked in roughly the top third of her class at Jefferson City High School, the principal said, and had been in no trouble at school or with the law.
Yet Bustamante had tried to commit suicide at age 13 and had been receiving mental health treatment for depression and cutting herself, said David Cook, the chief juvenile officer in Cole County. Once, she led her family to believe she was attending a local church event when she instead sneaked off to a concert in St. Louis, about two hours away, Cook said. On one or two other occasions, Bustamante spent the night in the woods without permission, he said.
After her arrest, Bustamante tried to cut herself with her own fingernails while being held in juvenile custody, said her appointed juvenile defense attorney Kurt Valentine.
He argued Bustamante should remain in the juvenile system, where she could potentially be rehabilitated before being set free by age 21. Valentine warned that Bustamante would either kill herself or be assaulted and killed by others if she were placed in an adult jail cell or prison.
"We are throwing away the child and we are signing a death sentence for Alyssa," Valentine said. "She is not going to survive her time in the Cole County jail."
Cole County Sheriff Greg White said later that Bustamante would be held at a different, undisclosed location.
Cook recommended Bustamante be tied as an adult. Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem agreed, saying the killing was vicious and that the state had no adequate facilities or services to treat Bustamante if she remained in the juvenile system.
Bill Heberle, with the Missouri Division of Youth Services, testified that the state has no secure facilities with fences for female juveniles. Youths in Missouri's juvenile system generally are housed in group settings and are not typically watched by staff 24 hours a day, he said.

So? What do the lovely ladies of BG think about this? What with all the girl's depression and her suicide attempt at the age of 13, would she really get lost in the shuffle in an adult prison? Would it be too much to handle for her? Should she be able to stay in a facility with people her own age?

Not done reading yet but its creepy that its only a few hours away from me    

I voted for juvie

I think she should be tried as an adult. I mean at 15 I knew plotting to kill someone and slitting their throat was wrong.
I mean maybe they should put her in one of those jails for the criminally insane or whatever but I def. don't think a life sentence is too harsh.

I didn't read you whole post but I have read the story in the news and it kills me. She killed a 9 year old to see what it felt like. I don't care if she is 15 or not she should be housed with adults. Why show her mercy when she didn't show that baby or her family any?

A fifteen year old knows what the fuck they are doing when they kill someone. She should rot in jail. If a 15 year old girl killed my baby I would want them drug out and shot.

Oh and I DO NOT think that she should have the oppurtunity to be released in 6 years.

Ok hmmm so she killed the poor little girl almost like "just cos or just for fun to see what its like" pshI dont see why they shouldnt throw her in county jail...
they wanna protect her? a murderer? let her go at 21? whatev...
she'd then prolly think oh i got away w it once i can do this again...
yeah....   idk... really what the fucks wrong w ppl...

I think that the courts will do adequate testing to find out whether she was aware of her actions. I believe they will find that this act was premeditated and that she is very smart for her age, based on all of the evidence against her. This young woman has the makings of a serial killer and needs to be dealt with swiftly.

I don't think she should be released in 6 years at all.

Quoting - Angie -:“ Not done reading yet but its creepy that its only a few hours away from me    ”

Same here.

Even if she's tried as an adult, she should spend her minor years in a juvenile facility. They usually do it that way. Odd.

As for her being tried as an adult, every state has laws at which what age for certain crimes it's allowed.

Like that 10 yr old boy that admited to shooting his dad in the head, if he was 3 years older, he would be tried as an adult.

What do you guys think would happen if it were a 15-year-old boy who'd done the murder? Whether his victim was the same little girl or a little 9-year-old boy?

They would've thrown the book at him immediately, am I right? No wavering; it'd be "Sorry, your ass is going to PRISON!"

Quoting MommyRust:“ I think that the courts will do adequate testing to find out whether she was aware of her actions. I ... [snip!] ... on all of the evidence against her. This young woman has the makings of a serial killer and needs to be dealt with swiftly.”

yeah even her principal from school said smart in a sneaky way...
that alone could turn bad for her ass...
yeah id want her dead - just as in love they say "age doesnt matter" so lets stick with this for death and murder too, shall we?

I'd have to say because of the premeditated fashion of the killing and her 'excuse' for killing I'd say there is a slim to none chance of rehabilitation.So I vote big girl prison.I have compassion for her depression etc.., but I still think that she would be a threat to society and needs some intense therapy that prison and juvie probably wouldn't/couldn't offer.