1
00:00:02,720 --> 00:00:04,080
- Every person
that worked on this case
2
00:00:04,200 --> 00:00:05,920
was traumatized at some level.
3
00:00:11,400 --> 00:00:13,480
- If you started out
as a search and rescue,
4
00:00:13,600 --> 00:00:15,080
you know you have
a certain amount of time
5
00:00:15,200 --> 00:00:17,400
before it's going to be
a search and recovery.
6
00:00:17,520 --> 00:00:21,160
We start considering that
there may have been foul play.
7
00:00:28,800 --> 00:00:31,280
- She had been
painted as a monster.
8
00:00:31,400 --> 00:00:33,960
- But sometimes evil is
afoot in the world.
9
00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:38,640
- That's when I realized.
10
00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:41,640
Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh!
11
00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:43,360
- At the flip of the switch,
12
00:00:43,480 --> 00:00:47,720
you would get this
bloodthirsty almost animal.
13
00:00:47,840 --> 00:00:50,920
That's just desperately wicked.
14
00:00:51,040 --> 00:00:54,200
[dramatic music]
15
00:00:54,320 --> 00:00:56,040
♪
16
00:00:56,160 --> 00:00:57,480
- And she kept repeating,
he's going to kill me.
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00:00:57,600 --> 00:00:58,960
[gun cocks]
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00:00:59,080 --> 00:01:00,680
- And he shoots my daughter.
[gunshot]
19
00:01:02,760 --> 00:01:04,400
- That's about
the only time in my career
20
00:01:04,520 --> 00:01:05,960
that I just wanted
to shoot him.
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00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:14,560
- [vocalizing]
22
00:01:14,680 --> 00:01:16,720
- You can run,
but you can't hide.
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00:01:16,840 --> 00:01:20,920
♪
24
00:01:21,040 --> 00:01:24,040
[vocalizing]
25
00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:29,600
[suspenseful music]
26
00:01:29,720 --> 00:01:33,120
♪
27
00:01:33,240 --> 00:01:37,360
- Cole County is roughly
390 square miles.
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00:01:37,480 --> 00:01:40,600
One of the outlying
communities is St. Martins.
29
00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:44,480
It's a slightly more rural,
smaller community,
30
00:01:44,600 --> 00:01:49,200
a very solid community,
good people.
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00:01:49,320 --> 00:01:50,920
Rarely had calls out there.
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00:01:51,040 --> 00:01:52,200
[whooshing]
33
00:01:52,320 --> 00:01:53,840
Teenagers may be
driving too fast
34
00:01:53,960 --> 00:01:55,120
or things of that order,
35
00:01:55,240 --> 00:01:57,360
but really,
it's a nice community,
36
00:01:57,480 --> 00:01:58,880
a good place to live.
37
00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:02,160
[thunder rumbling]
38
00:02:03,840 --> 00:02:06,160
On that Wednesday,
actually at 7:00 PM,
39
00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:08,160
I was at one of
the local churches doing
40
00:02:08,280 --> 00:02:10,440
a church security workshop.
41
00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:12,360
I received a phone call
from one of my deputies
42
00:02:12,480 --> 00:02:14,600
that said they had
a report of a missing child
43
00:02:14,720 --> 00:02:16,200
in the St. Martins area.
44
00:02:16,320 --> 00:02:17,440
♪
45
00:02:17,560 --> 00:02:19,080
[somber music]
46
00:02:19,200 --> 00:02:21,600
Elizabeth Olten was
a 9-year-old girl,
47
00:02:21,720 --> 00:02:24,640
by all accounts,
a very nice person.
48
00:02:24,760 --> 00:02:27,880
She attended
a local grade school,
49
00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:30,200
certainly was doing
fine in classes.
50
00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:32,440
She didn't seem to be
unhappy with her family,
51
00:02:32,560 --> 00:02:35,120
with her school, with anything
that she was involved in.
52
00:02:35,240 --> 00:02:38,920
She was just a happy,
intelligent child.
53
00:02:41,200 --> 00:02:45,320
- Elizabeth Olten was our
neighbor at that time, in 2009.
54
00:02:45,440 --> 00:02:50,160
And she lived four houses,
three or four houses down.
55
00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:53,200
- She is a girl that would
come over to our house
56
00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:54,880
from time to time,
especially in the summer.
57
00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:57,120
We have a swimming pool,
and she came over
58
00:02:57,240 --> 00:03:00,760
and went swimming
a couple times.
59
00:03:00,880 --> 00:03:02,120
- We'd hang out at
the Olten house,
60
00:03:02,240 --> 00:03:03,760
and sometimes Elizabeth
would be hanging out
61
00:03:03,880 --> 00:03:06,040
with Emma, my little sister.
62
00:03:08,720 --> 00:03:11,280
[suspenseful music]
63
00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:14,520
- I get a call
from Elizabeth's mother,
64
00:03:14,640 --> 00:03:16,440
and she's asking
about her daughter.
65
00:03:16,560 --> 00:03:17,720
And I said, well,
I've not seen her.
66
00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:20,080
I don't know anything about it.
67
00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:21,840
And she said, well,
I can't find her.
68
00:03:21,960 --> 00:03:25,000
And it's dark,
and she's never out at night.
69
00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:27,320
And we went down there,
and we talked to her parents
70
00:03:27,440 --> 00:03:29,640
and we talked to the police.
71
00:03:29,760 --> 00:03:33,840
And that's when
I realized that--
72
00:03:33,960 --> 00:03:37,200
the seriousness
of what was happening.
73
00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:40,120
I didn't know if she was
at a friend's house,
74
00:03:40,240 --> 00:03:41,440
but then, obviously,
we realized
75
00:03:41,560 --> 00:03:46,800
that she's definitely missing.
76
00:03:46,920 --> 00:03:50,280
- Deputies are talking with
the mother of Elizabeth,
77
00:03:50,400 --> 00:03:53,600
the missing child, and finding
out where she had been,
78
00:03:53,720 --> 00:03:55,480
the last time people
knew about her.
79
00:03:55,600 --> 00:03:57,440
The mother had stated
that her daughter,
80
00:03:57,560 --> 00:04:01,280
she had been with some
classmates, twin boys,
81
00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:03,120
down the road.
82
00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:05,240
They lived with
their grandparents.
83
00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:08,200
[tense music]
84
00:04:08,320 --> 00:04:11,560
♪
85
00:04:11,680 --> 00:04:13,440
- We just went
to the Oltens' house,
86
00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:15,120
and we were playing
video games.
87
00:04:15,240 --> 00:04:18,160
- The sheriff showed up
and spent more time
88
00:04:18,280 --> 00:04:19,720
asking questions,
more than anything else,
89
00:04:19,840 --> 00:04:21,440
for a while.
90
00:04:21,560 --> 00:04:23,640
- And then that's when
we found out that
91
00:04:23,760 --> 00:04:26,760
Emma did go over there
and knocked on the door
92
00:04:26,880 --> 00:04:30,560
and asked if Elizabeth
could come out and play.
93
00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:31,960
- And then, you know,
94
00:04:32,080 --> 00:04:34,240
Elizabeth hadn't
been home yet.
95
00:04:34,360 --> 00:04:35,440
There's panic between,
you know,
96
00:04:35,560 --> 00:04:37,400
Mom and brother for sure.
97
00:04:37,520 --> 00:04:38,760
And, like, you know, what
could have happened to her?
98
00:04:38,880 --> 00:04:41,320
Why wouldn't she be
home by now?
99
00:04:41,440 --> 00:04:45,000
- The older sibling,
which was Alyssa Bustamante,
100
00:04:45,120 --> 00:04:47,400
had volunteered
to walk her home.
101
00:04:47,520 --> 00:04:49,840
And she said rather than
walking on the road--
102
00:04:49,960 --> 00:04:51,760
and the road has
no sidewalks on it.
103
00:04:51,880 --> 00:04:53,880
It's a rural, paved road.
104
00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:57,280
So rather than walk on that
in the approaching darkness,
105
00:04:57,400 --> 00:05:00,160
they took the back routes
from the back of the homes,
106
00:05:00,280 --> 00:05:03,160
through some farmland
and some wooded areas.
107
00:05:03,280 --> 00:05:05,600
And Alyssa said that
she walked her to--
108
00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:08,760
in sight of Oltens' home
and left her there,
109
00:05:08,880 --> 00:05:11,240
with Olten walking home.
110
00:05:11,360 --> 00:05:14,120
So we have that very short
time of being inside
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00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:17,000
of the house
and not seeing her again
112
00:05:17,120 --> 00:05:19,000
and then never making it
to the home.
113
00:05:19,120 --> 00:05:21,200
So at that point,
we're looking at perhaps
114
00:05:21,320 --> 00:05:24,600
she got lost in the woods,
or she fell and hurt herself.
115
00:05:24,720 --> 00:05:27,920
[thunder rumbling]
116
00:05:28,040 --> 00:05:29,640
- A couple hours later,
about the time
117
00:05:29,760 --> 00:05:31,840
they really started
searching in earnest,
118
00:05:31,960 --> 00:05:33,440
it started to rain,
which, of course,
119
00:05:33,560 --> 00:05:34,960
made their search
more difficult.
120
00:05:35,080 --> 00:05:36,200
[thunder crashing]
121
00:05:36,320 --> 00:05:37,360
- It was a dark night.
122
00:05:37,480 --> 00:05:39,040
It was not just cloudy,
123
00:05:39,160 --> 00:05:41,920
but we had torrential rains,
great winds.
124
00:05:42,040 --> 00:05:44,920
It was an uncomfortable time
to be looking for a lost child
125
00:05:45,040 --> 00:05:46,320
out in the woods
and farm areas.
126
00:05:46,440 --> 00:05:47,920
[thunder rumbling]
127
00:05:48,040 --> 00:05:49,680
If you started out
as a search and rescue,
128
00:05:49,800 --> 00:05:51,160
you know you have
a certain amount of time
129
00:05:51,280 --> 00:05:53,960
before it's going to be
a search and recovery.
130
00:05:54,080 --> 00:05:56,000
You know, you want to be able
to use things like helicopters
131
00:05:56,120 --> 00:05:58,360
with forward-looking
infrared radar,
132
00:05:58,480 --> 00:06:00,240
which normally is
available to us.
133
00:06:00,360 --> 00:06:03,600
That first night,
the weather was too bad.
134
00:06:03,720 --> 00:06:06,800
We couldn't use
a great deal of the aircraft.
135
00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:08,520
And so we're taking
the assumption that
136
00:06:08,640 --> 00:06:10,520
she could have fallen
and injured herself
137
00:06:10,640 --> 00:06:13,120
or, in the darkness,
gotten a little lost.
138
00:06:13,240 --> 00:06:15,240
And it's not a good place
to be lost in.
139
00:06:15,360 --> 00:06:16,920
The woods are very thick.
140
00:06:17,040 --> 00:06:20,640
There's a lot of undergrowth,
a lot of brush.
141
00:06:20,760 --> 00:06:22,720
The creeks are full
of water and running
142
00:06:22,840 --> 00:06:24,200
at a good rate of speed.
143
00:06:24,320 --> 00:06:26,440
So in a situation
like that, again,
144
00:06:26,560 --> 00:06:30,240
you want to start looking at
a search and rescue operation.
145
00:06:30,360 --> 00:06:32,400
We got local fire departments,
146
00:06:32,520 --> 00:06:35,320
and we set up a grid search
with teams.
147
00:06:35,440 --> 00:06:39,480
The way we do that is
we pull up maps of the area
148
00:06:39,600 --> 00:06:42,320
and we crosshatch it,
covering literally
149
00:06:42,440 --> 00:06:44,720
every square inch
to every square yard,
150
00:06:44,840 --> 00:06:46,080
all the way across it,
151
00:06:46,200 --> 00:06:48,800
from east to west
and north to south.
152
00:06:48,920 --> 00:06:50,800
There was so much underbrush
that it's hard
153
00:06:50,920 --> 00:06:52,720
to fight your way through.
154
00:06:52,840 --> 00:06:54,400
You've got people that
were willing to get down
155
00:06:54,520 --> 00:06:57,280
on their hands and knees
and crawl through brush.
156
00:06:57,400 --> 00:07:01,240
This is hours and hours
and hours of work by people
157
00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:03,960
in horrific conditions,
and yet,
158
00:07:04,080 --> 00:07:06,920
the rescuers did not give up.
159
00:07:07,040 --> 00:07:08,960
We just kept looking.
160
00:07:09,080 --> 00:07:13,720
But we didn't find her
or any indication of her.
161
00:07:13,840 --> 00:07:16,040
And we had to eventually
call for that night
162
00:07:16,160 --> 00:07:19,720
because it simply became too
dangerous to be in the woods.
163
00:07:19,840 --> 00:07:23,280
- We were just
totally in the dark
164
00:07:23,400 --> 00:07:25,520
about what actually happened.
165
00:07:25,640 --> 00:07:28,280
- Her father was in jail.
166
00:07:28,400 --> 00:07:30,880
A lot of people were
thinking the same thing.
167
00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:34,000
Perhaps somebody he knows
had kidnapped her.
168
00:07:36,760 --> 00:07:39,760
[helicopter whirring]
169
00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:48,040
- By the next morning,
we had also started
170
00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:49,800
having a dual command post.
171
00:07:49,920 --> 00:07:52,120
One command post was
search and rescue.
172
00:07:52,240 --> 00:07:54,560
The other command post
became investigative.
173
00:07:54,680 --> 00:07:57,080
- They had about
300 people were out
174
00:07:57,200 --> 00:07:59,040
looking, trying to find her.
175
00:07:59,160 --> 00:08:00,960
People we know,
friends of ours,
176
00:08:01,080 --> 00:08:02,360
everyone was out
trying to find her
177
00:08:02,480 --> 00:08:04,400
because we couldn't
really figure out
178
00:08:04,520 --> 00:08:05,560
what could have happened.
179
00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:08,920
We were all just flabbergasted.
180
00:08:09,040 --> 00:08:10,720
[tense music]
181
00:08:10,840 --> 00:08:12,320
♪
182
00:08:12,440 --> 00:08:15,080
- We had a good
couple hundred volunteers,
183
00:08:15,200 --> 00:08:17,600
not counting the fire
department personnel,
184
00:08:17,720 --> 00:08:20,040
the law enforcement personnel,
ambulance crews.
185
00:08:20,160 --> 00:08:23,440
Everyone wanted to volunteer.
186
00:08:23,560 --> 00:08:26,360
We partnered with the Missouri
State Highway Patrol,
187
00:08:26,480 --> 00:08:28,040
and they set up checkpoints
and literally stopped
188
00:08:28,160 --> 00:08:30,200
every vehicle
that came through
189
00:08:30,320 --> 00:08:33,000
and asked what people
had seen.
190
00:08:33,120 --> 00:08:35,400
We had no visual
sighting of her.
191
00:08:38,880 --> 00:08:41,840
One of the other aspects
that kept us on task
192
00:08:41,960 --> 00:08:43,600
in this, certainly, limited--
193
00:08:43,720 --> 00:08:45,400
big area, but limited--
194
00:08:45,520 --> 00:08:47,320
was the fact that
she had a cell phone.
195
00:08:49,440 --> 00:08:51,520
We can't locate the phone,
but yet we have
196
00:08:51,640 --> 00:08:54,320
a broad area that
it's pinging in.
197
00:08:54,440 --> 00:08:56,880
We knew that the area
we were searching that
198
00:08:57,000 --> 00:08:58,960
that phone was in that area.
199
00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:01,360
We kept tracking,
looking for that,
200
00:09:01,480 --> 00:09:05,120
until eventually, the battery
on the phone died.
201
00:09:05,240 --> 00:09:08,200
We had almost gotten
to the point of purely
202
00:09:08,320 --> 00:09:10,760
search and recovery because
the weather had been so bad,
203
00:09:10,880 --> 00:09:12,480
the likelihood
of her surviving
204
00:09:12,600 --> 00:09:14,840
to that point was pretty low.
205
00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:20,560
So we start considering that
there may have been foul play.
206
00:09:22,360 --> 00:09:24,320
That's where you start
looking at, well,
207
00:09:24,440 --> 00:09:27,760
who is the person
that had last contact?
208
00:09:27,880 --> 00:09:30,040
And the natural
outflow of that is
209
00:09:30,160 --> 00:09:33,160
where you would start looking
at a person of interest.
210
00:09:33,280 --> 00:09:35,800
So the last person
to see her had been
211
00:09:35,920 --> 00:09:38,280
15-year-old Alyssa Bustamante.
212
00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:42,560
♪
213
00:09:46,600 --> 00:09:49,280
[suspenseful music]
214
00:09:49,400 --> 00:09:56,400
♪
215
00:10:01,280 --> 00:10:03,400
- Elizabeth Olten's brother
came over and was
216
00:10:03,520 --> 00:10:05,040
asking where Elizabeth was.
217
00:10:05,160 --> 00:10:07,560
And we didn't know.
218
00:10:07,680 --> 00:10:08,560
We had no idea.
219
00:10:08,680 --> 00:10:10,600
Why are you asking us?
220
00:10:10,720 --> 00:10:14,880
He said, well, because
she left and was with Alyssa.
221
00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:17,680
I'm like, I didn't know that.
222
00:10:17,800 --> 00:10:20,920
So we asked Alyssa,
and Alyssa kind of
223
00:10:21,040 --> 00:10:22,640
brushed it off and said,
well, yeah, she was.
224
00:10:22,760 --> 00:10:24,840
But then she left
and went home,
225
00:10:24,960 --> 00:10:27,400
or she thought she went home.
226
00:10:27,520 --> 00:10:30,240
Alyssa was going to a church
function at that time.
227
00:10:30,360 --> 00:10:33,440
So Karen took Alyssa
to the church function,
228
00:10:33,560 --> 00:10:37,480
and Elizabeth Olten's mother
then got concerned
229
00:10:37,600 --> 00:10:40,640
and was asking us, you know,
what happened to Elizabeth?
230
00:10:43,840 --> 00:10:45,720
The FBI wanted
to talk to Alyssa
231
00:10:45,840 --> 00:10:47,520
because they had
been called in
232
00:10:47,640 --> 00:10:49,440
since this was
a missing minor.
233
00:10:49,560 --> 00:10:51,080
They got her out of school
234
00:10:51,200 --> 00:10:53,720
and took her in
for questioning,
235
00:10:53,840 --> 00:10:56,640
and she answered all their
questions for quite a while.
236
00:10:56,760 --> 00:10:58,960
They paid a lot
of attention to her
237
00:10:59,080 --> 00:11:02,240
right from the beginning.
238
00:11:02,360 --> 00:11:05,240
[pensive music]
239
00:11:05,360 --> 00:11:11,640
♪
240
00:11:11,760 --> 00:11:13,520
- I was there
when she was born,
241
00:11:13,640 --> 00:11:16,600
so I got to cut the cord
when she was delivered.
242
00:11:16,720 --> 00:11:18,840
Her mother was just 16.
243
00:11:18,960 --> 00:11:23,760
And she was the teeniest
little baby, so sweet.
244
00:11:23,880 --> 00:11:28,080
As babies go, she was
very happy and cheerful.
245
00:11:28,200 --> 00:11:29,120
- She seemed like
a pretty good sister.
246
00:11:29,240 --> 00:11:30,680
Like, she, you know,
tried to show us
247
00:11:30,800 --> 00:11:33,680
the way with some things
and help us out.
248
00:11:33,800 --> 00:11:35,560
And, you know, I never
really, you know,
249
00:11:35,680 --> 00:11:37,560
thought anything bad of her.
250
00:11:37,680 --> 00:11:40,960
- Then they moved to Missouri.
251
00:11:41,080 --> 00:11:42,720
- I guess you'd
call her a tomboy.
252
00:11:42,840 --> 00:11:44,880
She liked playing outside.
253
00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:46,480
She liked climbing trees.
254
00:11:46,600 --> 00:11:48,960
And we had quite a few
trees around,
255
00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:51,360
and she climbed them all.
256
00:11:54,640 --> 00:11:58,160
[poignant music]
257
00:11:58,280 --> 00:11:59,760
- I definitely remember
as she got older,
258
00:11:59,880 --> 00:12:00,920
she was more of like
a recluse, almost,
259
00:12:01,040 --> 00:12:02,400
you know, staying in her room,
260
00:12:02,520 --> 00:12:05,840
doing her own thing,
more, like,
261
00:12:05,960 --> 00:12:08,160
depressed and definitely darker.
262
00:12:08,280 --> 00:12:09,920
And it was definitely hard
because, you know,
263
00:12:10,040 --> 00:12:11,720
you remember her as, like,
you know, a happy,
264
00:12:11,840 --> 00:12:13,800
you know, sister.
265
00:12:13,920 --> 00:12:16,120
And you can kind of,
you know, also see her
266
00:12:16,240 --> 00:12:18,880
transitioning into someone
that's not very happy.
267
00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:20,600
- I think it was about
the same time she was going
268
00:12:20,720 --> 00:12:23,680
through puberty,
and she had a real hard time
269
00:12:23,800 --> 00:12:25,600
with that
because of being a tomboy,
270
00:12:25,720 --> 00:12:28,760
she wanted to be a boy.
271
00:12:28,880 --> 00:12:31,480
And all of a sudden,
she's developing,
272
00:12:31,600 --> 00:12:33,520
and she didn't really
want to develop.
273
00:12:33,640 --> 00:12:36,120
So she had a real, what I
would consider a dark period,
274
00:12:36,240 --> 00:12:37,920
going through the goth stuff.
275
00:12:38,040 --> 00:12:39,240
I couldn't get her
to wear anything
276
00:12:39,360 --> 00:12:42,240
that wasn't black or dark.
277
00:12:42,360 --> 00:12:44,760
- We'd go out, like,
monster hunting, you know.
278
00:12:44,880 --> 00:12:45,800
She made us believe
that there were
279
00:12:45,920 --> 00:12:48,320
actually monsters out there.
280
00:12:51,320 --> 00:12:54,200
[unsettling music]
281
00:12:54,320 --> 00:12:58,880
♪
282
00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:02,040
[clinking]
283
00:13:03,800 --> 00:13:07,080
- After school,
the kids come--
284
00:13:07,200 --> 00:13:10,040
get home on
the school bus at 4:30.
285
00:13:10,160 --> 00:13:11,640
Alyssa wanted to go
out in the woods,
286
00:13:11,760 --> 00:13:15,000
so I said, yes, you can
go out in the woods.
287
00:13:15,120 --> 00:13:18,880
That's something
she did real often.
288
00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:22,920
She went out at
about 5 o'clock.
289
00:13:23,040 --> 00:13:25,560
She came back at
about 6 o'clock,
290
00:13:25,680 --> 00:13:28,120
and it was just getting dark.
291
00:13:28,240 --> 00:13:30,920
She went right
upstairs to her room,
292
00:13:31,040 --> 00:13:34,640
which is a little unusual.
293
00:13:34,760 --> 00:13:36,320
A couple hours later,
about 7:30,
294
00:13:36,440 --> 00:13:39,920
8 o'clock, the sheriff was
here and started looking
295
00:13:40,040 --> 00:13:43,160
around for Elizabeth
and started asking
296
00:13:43,280 --> 00:13:46,280
questions of our family.
297
00:13:46,400 --> 00:13:49,640
- My first contact
with Alyssa,
298
00:13:49,760 --> 00:13:51,880
you would think that
this is the person
299
00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:54,680
that would be a good babysitter
for your children.
300
00:13:54,800 --> 00:13:58,040
She was engaging,
good eye contact,
301
00:13:58,160 --> 00:14:02,000
positive body language,
comfortable with adults,
302
00:14:02,120 --> 00:14:03,920
and seemed responsible.
303
00:14:04,040 --> 00:14:06,080
- We tried to help
as best we could
304
00:14:06,200 --> 00:14:08,000
because we still
were wondering,
305
00:14:08,120 --> 00:14:09,680
what the heck is
going on here?
306
00:14:09,800 --> 00:14:12,160
We never saw Elizabeth.
307
00:14:12,280 --> 00:14:15,680
♪
308
00:14:15,800 --> 00:14:18,680
[somber music]
309
00:14:18,800 --> 00:14:25,800
♪
310
00:14:27,320 --> 00:14:28,880
[camera shutter clicking]
311
00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:31,640
- We used the FBI's
evidence recovery team
312
00:14:31,760 --> 00:14:33,800
to execute the search warrant,
313
00:14:33,920 --> 00:14:37,800
and they went through
with a fine tooth comb.
314
00:14:37,920 --> 00:14:39,240
[camera shutter clicking]
315
00:14:39,360 --> 00:14:41,520
- Goodness,
there must have been 30
316
00:14:41,640 --> 00:14:43,800
law enforcement people
on this property,
317
00:14:43,920 --> 00:14:47,400
including, you know,
local people, FBI people.
318
00:14:47,520 --> 00:14:49,840
- And then you get
the search of the bedroom.
319
00:14:49,960 --> 00:14:51,280
[camera shutter clicks]
320
00:14:51,400 --> 00:14:53,360
And you start
finding out that,
321
00:14:53,480 --> 00:14:55,240
well, there's
a lot of darkness.
322
00:14:55,360 --> 00:14:56,880
[camera shutter clicking]
323
00:14:57,000 --> 00:14:58,200
When you think of a child
324
00:14:58,320 --> 00:14:59,960
writing something on the wall,
325
00:15:00,080 --> 00:15:01,680
you think of a little kid
with a crayon
326
00:15:01,800 --> 00:15:04,880
or a paintbrush
or a magic marker.
327
00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:10,160
You don't think of a teenager
immortalizing that which
328
00:15:10,280 --> 00:15:14,360
is aberrant to society, looking
like there's blood on the wall
329
00:15:14,480 --> 00:15:18,200
or writing horrific
statements on the wall.
330
00:15:21,280 --> 00:15:25,080
- They were focusing
upstairs on Alyssa's room.
331
00:15:25,200 --> 00:15:26,880
And I mean, looking back,
I don't know why
332
00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:30,840
I didn't catch something,
but we really didn't.
333
00:15:30,960 --> 00:15:32,880
I just--I didn't catch a thing.
334
00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:34,440
But they were taking pictures,
335
00:15:34,560 --> 00:15:36,480
and that's when they found
her diary.
336
00:15:36,600 --> 00:15:38,960
[eerie music]
337
00:15:39,080 --> 00:15:42,120
- It turns out that that was
absolutely crucial to the case.
338
00:15:42,240 --> 00:15:44,360
♪
339
00:15:44,480 --> 00:15:50,240
She hid so much of herself
from even her closest contacts,
340
00:15:50,360 --> 00:15:54,520
but she surely shared
her heart in her journal.
341
00:15:58,440 --> 00:16:00,880
One of the investigators
with my agency
342
00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:04,840
was looking at the diary,
and as he's going through it,
343
00:16:04,960 --> 00:16:07,280
on the last entry
on the last page
344
00:16:07,400 --> 00:16:10,080
that she'd done anything on
was a large section
345
00:16:10,200 --> 00:16:12,800
that had been
scrawled over with her pen,
346
00:16:12,920 --> 00:16:14,600
so it was just
all blacked out.
347
00:16:14,720 --> 00:16:19,160
And honestly, he took a 20,000
candlepower flashlight,
348
00:16:19,280 --> 00:16:21,160
put it under it,
and you could clearly read
349
00:16:21,280 --> 00:16:23,440
what was written on the page.
350
00:16:27,040 --> 00:16:32,080
She's killed someone,
strangled her,
351
00:16:32,200 --> 00:16:36,880
stabbed her,
and cut her throat.
352
00:16:42,640 --> 00:16:46,600
I remember when my detective
shared it with me.
353
00:16:46,720 --> 00:16:50,520
And...[chuckling]
354
00:16:50,640 --> 00:16:52,280
It's a confession.
355
00:16:52,400 --> 00:16:55,200
It's a written confession.
356
00:16:55,320 --> 00:16:58,640
I would say we were in the 95
percentile that this is it.
357
00:16:58,760 --> 00:16:59,760
We've got her.
358
00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:07,074
Do you want subtitles for any video?
-=[ ai.OpenSubtitles.com ]=-
359
00:17:08,640 --> 00:17:11,520
[pensive music]
360
00:17:11,640 --> 00:17:15,720
♪
361
00:17:15,840 --> 00:17:19,120
- When Alyssa was 7,
and right before the boys--
362
00:17:19,240 --> 00:17:21,760
her younger brothers
turned three years old,
363
00:17:21,880 --> 00:17:24,560
her mother came to California
364
00:17:24,680 --> 00:17:28,920
because she split up
with her husband.
365
00:17:29,040 --> 00:17:32,400
We soon discovered that
her mother was a drug addict,
366
00:17:32,520 --> 00:17:35,200
and what had been going on
in Missouri was not good.
367
00:17:35,320 --> 00:17:39,240
The kids were not
very well cared for.
368
00:17:39,360 --> 00:17:41,120
- There was one
particular night
369
00:17:41,240 --> 00:17:46,200
my husband had called me
to tell me that
370
00:17:46,320 --> 00:17:48,880
he went over to see the kids.
371
00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:50,960
We'd gotten them a little
trailer so they could have--
372
00:17:51,080 --> 00:17:52,040
Michelle could have
a little privacy.
373
00:17:52,160 --> 00:17:53,520
We were hoping that would help.
374
00:17:53,640 --> 00:17:55,240
Anyway, it was a disaster.
375
00:17:55,360 --> 00:17:57,560
And so beer cans were all over.
376
00:17:57,680 --> 00:18:01,080
And she was not--
377
00:18:01,200 --> 00:18:03,080
she was there, but she was--
378
00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:04,760
I think she was
passed out on the bed.
379
00:18:04,880 --> 00:18:06,320
[sighs]
380
00:18:11,280 --> 00:18:13,760
And so, um...
381
00:18:16,960 --> 00:18:18,760
I really didn't want to take
these children away
382
00:18:18,880 --> 00:18:21,880
from their parents, but we did.
383
00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:23,320
We had to.
384
00:18:26,520 --> 00:18:31,040
One of the things that
the state-appointed counselor
385
00:18:31,160 --> 00:18:33,000
said from the testing
she had done with Alyssa
386
00:18:33,120 --> 00:18:36,560
is that she wanted me
to be aware that there was
387
00:18:36,680 --> 00:18:39,120
a possibility that her behavior
388
00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:42,080
was going to get
a little bizarre.
389
00:18:42,200 --> 00:18:43,760
And I was really glad
she told me this,
390
00:18:43,880 --> 00:18:47,280
because it did.
391
00:18:47,400 --> 00:18:49,920
We would be out,
like, at a store,
392
00:18:50,040 --> 00:18:52,840
and she would just go
down on the ground.
393
00:18:52,960 --> 00:18:56,320
Now, bear in mind she was
8 years old at this time.
394
00:18:56,440 --> 00:18:59,840
And she would act out things
like a 4-year-old would do,
395
00:18:59,960 --> 00:19:03,240
like she was a giraffe
or a donkey or whatever.
396
00:19:03,360 --> 00:19:07,160
Or she would chase in and out
of the clothes at the store.
397
00:19:07,280 --> 00:19:09,920
And of course, people that
are around at that time
398
00:19:10,040 --> 00:19:12,040
are looking at me, like,
well, aren't you going
399
00:19:12,160 --> 00:19:13,920
to do something about this?
400
00:19:14,040 --> 00:19:15,920
You know, this behavior
is rather odd.
401
00:19:17,880 --> 00:19:20,480
I don't know that
any of us can understand
402
00:19:20,600 --> 00:19:22,560
what it feels like to have
a parent, not just one,
403
00:19:22,680 --> 00:19:24,000
but two parents abandon you,
404
00:19:24,120 --> 00:19:26,360
and not just once,
but over and over.
405
00:19:26,480 --> 00:19:29,040
[indistinct chatter]
406
00:19:29,160 --> 00:19:30,640
- She wouldn't trust us
with her feelings.
407
00:19:30,760 --> 00:19:32,040
She thought
she had to hide them.
408
00:19:34,720 --> 00:19:37,240
- Because, you know,
her experience
409
00:19:37,360 --> 00:19:40,640
with adults in her
early life was such that
410
00:19:40,760 --> 00:19:42,680
when she did share, it--
411
00:19:42,800 --> 00:19:44,640
bad things happened.
412
00:19:44,760 --> 00:19:47,600
[poignant music]
413
00:19:47,720 --> 00:19:50,200
♪
414
00:19:50,320 --> 00:19:53,960
- We eventually moved
to Missouri.
415
00:19:54,080 --> 00:19:57,000
I only saw her cry once,
one time.
416
00:19:57,120 --> 00:20:00,480
It was after one of the times
her mother had left.
417
00:20:00,600 --> 00:20:04,600
This was a little bit
before Alyssa turned 12.
418
00:20:04,720 --> 00:20:06,280
She was in her bedroom, in bed,
419
00:20:06,400 --> 00:20:08,160
and she had the covers
over her head.
420
00:20:08,280 --> 00:20:10,600
And I could hear her crying.
421
00:20:10,720 --> 00:20:12,640
And I went in
and I lowered the covers,
422
00:20:12,760 --> 00:20:15,440
and we cried together.
423
00:20:15,560 --> 00:20:18,600
And--because we were both sad.
424
00:20:22,280 --> 00:20:23,600
[sighs]
425
00:20:23,720 --> 00:20:27,040
To have--to have a child
that's an addict
426
00:20:27,160 --> 00:20:30,960
is very difficult
for a mother, a parent.
427
00:20:31,080 --> 00:20:34,840
And for Alyssa, it's her
mother, and she loves her.
428
00:20:34,960 --> 00:20:37,320
And she's left her again.
429
00:20:37,440 --> 00:20:41,000
And I think that in her mind,
it was hopeless,
430
00:20:41,120 --> 00:20:43,000
and wasn't going
to get her life together.
431
00:20:43,120 --> 00:20:44,280
And she finally
had to face that.
432
00:20:44,400 --> 00:20:46,560
Her mother wasn't coming back.
433
00:20:46,680 --> 00:20:50,520
I guess she decided that it
was more than she could handle,
434
00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:52,840
and that's when
she attempted suicide.
435
00:20:57,560 --> 00:21:00,440
[somber music]
436
00:21:00,560 --> 00:21:04,160
- Once we tried
to get help for her,
437
00:21:04,280 --> 00:21:07,600
she was diagnosed
as being bipolar.
438
00:21:07,720 --> 00:21:10,520
And that's sort of explained
her behavior in a lot of ways,
439
00:21:10,640 --> 00:21:16,720
that she was down
and up and so on.
440
00:21:16,840 --> 00:21:20,120
- And she would self-harm.
441
00:21:20,240 --> 00:21:22,640
- You can definitely see
the scars on her arms
442
00:21:22,760 --> 00:21:24,320
and, like, you know,
how fresh they were sometimes
443
00:21:24,440 --> 00:21:27,080
when she would cut herself.
444
00:21:27,200 --> 00:21:29,200
And she would definitely
get in, like, dark moods
445
00:21:29,320 --> 00:21:31,080
where she wouldn't really
talk, or, you know,
446
00:21:31,200 --> 00:21:33,240
you could tell that
something was bothering her.
447
00:21:35,520 --> 00:21:37,880
- When I looked at some of
the things she was looking up,
448
00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:41,440
she was looking up more ways
of how to kill herself.
449
00:21:47,080 --> 00:21:48,760
[indistinct chatter]
450
00:21:48,880 --> 00:21:51,560
[unsettling music]
451
00:21:51,680 --> 00:21:58,160
♪
452
00:21:58,280 --> 00:22:00,880
- But at that point,
she was at school.
453
00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:03,600
We sent deputies
to take her into custody.
454
00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:06,160
- As a 15-year-old,
they just wanted us
455
00:22:06,280 --> 00:22:09,680
to bring Alyssa to the FBI
office on Friday morning,
456
00:22:09,800 --> 00:22:12,320
which is what we did.
457
00:22:12,440 --> 00:22:14,240
Alyssa and I went in,
and we were being questioned
458
00:22:14,360 --> 00:22:16,720
by the sergeant,
as well as they had
459
00:22:16,840 --> 00:22:19,440
a juvenile officer there.
460
00:22:19,560 --> 00:22:20,800
- If you don't mind if
I sit here so I can write--
461
00:22:20,920 --> 00:22:22,400
- Yeah.
462
00:22:22,520 --> 00:22:23,760
- 'Cause I'm going to be
taking a lot of notes, so.
463
00:22:23,880 --> 00:22:25,360
- OK.
464
00:22:25,480 --> 00:22:28,440
- We really want to know,
did you do it?
465
00:22:28,560 --> 00:22:32,760
Which the diary gave it to us,
but we want to hear her say it.
466
00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:36,240
But we also want to know why.
467
00:24:17,560 --> 00:24:22,280
- Finally, he started asking
her more pointed questions
468
00:24:22,400 --> 00:24:27,280
and pretty much
putting things--
469
00:24:27,400 --> 00:24:29,400
I remember thinking,
wow, why is he--
470
00:24:29,520 --> 00:24:32,520
why is he saying this stuff?
471
00:24:46,680 --> 00:24:49,800
- At that point,
I was still 100% sure that
472
00:24:49,920 --> 00:24:52,360
Alyssa had nothing to do
with anything.
473
00:24:52,480 --> 00:24:54,920
If somebody had asked me,
it was 100% sure
474
00:24:55,040 --> 00:24:57,320
I knew that she was not
involved in that.
475
00:24:57,440 --> 00:25:00,120
- But her denial then
was contrary to
476
00:25:00,240 --> 00:25:02,360
what the facts were that
she was confronted with.
477
00:25:14,280 --> 00:25:16,600
- And they told her
that they had found her diary
478
00:25:16,720 --> 00:25:19,400
in which she mentions
what she had done.
479
00:26:01,680 --> 00:26:04,120
- When you're doing an
interview or an interrogation
480
00:26:04,240 --> 00:26:07,280
with an individual, you're
trying to get to the point
481
00:26:07,400 --> 00:26:11,080
that the situation is set up
where the only thing
482
00:26:11,200 --> 00:26:13,040
where they sense relief
is the truth.
483
00:26:58,440 --> 00:26:59,200
- Oh!
484
00:27:10,760 --> 00:27:11,560
That's when I realized.
485
00:27:11,680 --> 00:27:12,640
Oh, my gosh.
486
00:27:12,760 --> 00:27:14,760
Oh, my gosh!
487
00:27:14,880 --> 00:27:17,000
And I just had
a breakdown right there
488
00:27:17,120 --> 00:27:19,080
in the middle
of this whole situation.
489
00:27:19,200 --> 00:27:20,880
And I turned just to get out.
490
00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:23,000
I just--I couldn't breathe.
491
00:27:23,120 --> 00:27:25,000
[sobbing]
492
00:27:25,120 --> 00:27:26,840
- You saw how shocking it was
to the grandmother.
493
00:27:26,960 --> 00:27:29,360
Can you imagine finding out
494
00:27:29,480 --> 00:27:31,080
that a person
of your own blood
495
00:27:31,200 --> 00:27:33,960
has acted out this horribly?
496
00:27:34,080 --> 00:27:36,480
- It was like something
out of a movie.
497
00:27:36,600 --> 00:27:38,120
And all of a sudden,
you're in it,
498
00:27:38,240 --> 00:27:40,400
and it's not where
you wanna be.
499
00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:41,680
[sobbing]
500
00:27:51,640 --> 00:27:54,640
- [crying]
501
00:29:02,320 --> 00:29:04,480
- She confessed.
502
00:29:04,600 --> 00:29:07,280
And honestly, it was shocking
to the two investigators
503
00:29:07,400 --> 00:29:12,840
that were in there, to hear her
coldly lay out what she did.
504
00:29:53,680 --> 00:29:55,560
- This girl didn't care
who she killed.
505
00:29:55,680 --> 00:29:58,000
She cared that she killed.
506
00:29:58,120 --> 00:29:59,200
That's frightening.
507
00:30:04,120 --> 00:30:06,040
So at that point,
she gave directions
508
00:30:06,160 --> 00:30:07,800
to recover the body.
509
00:30:10,400 --> 00:30:14,320
The grave site,
that was under a tree
510
00:30:14,440 --> 00:30:16,000
and some brush in the area.
511
00:30:18,480 --> 00:30:21,200
When the body was recovered,
it was in a shallow grave.
512
00:30:21,320 --> 00:30:23,440
It was covered
with some debris.
513
00:30:23,560 --> 00:30:26,080
A lot of leaves were falling
at that time of the year.
514
00:30:26,200 --> 00:30:29,120
People had walked right there.
515
00:30:29,240 --> 00:30:32,200
So it's not that
that area wasn't covered.
516
00:30:32,320 --> 00:30:34,560
It was covered.
517
00:30:34,680 --> 00:30:37,440
They, of course,
found the cell phone.
518
00:30:37,560 --> 00:30:40,520
The autopsy report
is sufficient on all
519
00:30:40,640 --> 00:30:44,560
of the injuries, the violence,
the anger demonstrated
520
00:30:44,680 --> 00:30:47,800
by the method of death.
521
00:30:51,240 --> 00:30:55,680
It's incredible to me
that a 15-year-old girl,
522
00:30:55,800 --> 00:30:58,160
as an outflow of her life,
523
00:30:58,280 --> 00:31:00,440
was wanting to destroy
other people,
524
00:31:00,560 --> 00:31:03,640
was wanting to do it
brutally.
525
00:31:03,760 --> 00:31:06,240
And I think that we need
to remember that for most
526
00:31:06,360 --> 00:31:09,480
of us in society,
this is so aberrant
527
00:31:09,600 --> 00:31:11,960
that we are not going
to understand it
528
00:31:12,080 --> 00:31:14,200
because we're not that way.
529
00:31:14,320 --> 00:31:17,440
And I thank God that
we're not that way.
530
00:31:17,560 --> 00:31:21,960
♪
531
00:31:26,520 --> 00:31:29,400
[eerie music]
532
00:31:29,520 --> 00:31:32,000
♪
533
00:31:32,120 --> 00:31:35,640
- On that particular night,
I had a big church activity.
534
00:31:35,760 --> 00:31:37,480
And so I was preparing.
535
00:31:37,600 --> 00:31:39,000
I had to bring the treats,
and we were
536
00:31:39,120 --> 00:31:40,400
going to be teaching dancing.
537
00:31:40,520 --> 00:31:42,120
And Alyssa was going.
538
00:31:42,240 --> 00:31:46,520
And I remember she asked
if they could go over
539
00:31:46,640 --> 00:31:48,960
and see Elizabeth,
and we said no,
540
00:31:49,080 --> 00:31:52,520
because it was already 4:30,
and we needed to leave.
541
00:31:52,640 --> 00:31:54,680
Then I think she came back
and asked if they could--
542
00:31:54,800 --> 00:31:56,280
her and Emma could just
go out in the forest
543
00:31:56,400 --> 00:31:58,600
for a little bit
and come back.
544
00:31:58,720 --> 00:32:00,640
So they went.
545
00:32:00,760 --> 00:32:02,240
And we agreed that
they could do that,
546
00:32:02,360 --> 00:32:06,000
and that's where we thought
they were that night.
547
00:32:06,120 --> 00:32:08,040
Later, it was obviously
discovered that
548
00:32:08,160 --> 00:32:09,800
Emma went over
and got Elizabeth,
549
00:32:09,920 --> 00:32:12,120
and then they went
out into the woods.
550
00:32:12,240 --> 00:32:15,600
And then I guess they
ditched Emma and kept going,
551
00:32:15,720 --> 00:32:18,400
you know, out in the woods.
552
00:32:18,520 --> 00:32:23,480
- While Alyssa was walking
Elizabeth home, at one point,
553
00:32:23,600 --> 00:32:28,160
out of view of anyone else,
she started to strangle her,
554
00:32:28,280 --> 00:32:31,440
and she found that
the girl was too strong.
555
00:32:31,560 --> 00:32:34,480
And when she was resisting
being strangled is when Alyssa
556
00:32:34,600 --> 00:32:37,240
had said that
she pulled the knife out,
557
00:32:37,360 --> 00:32:40,240
the kitchen knife out
and began stabbing her.
558
00:32:40,360 --> 00:32:44,320
She stabbed her repeatedly
and cut her throat.
559
00:32:44,440 --> 00:32:48,680
The brutality of it is just--
is shocking to the conscience.
560
00:32:48,800 --> 00:32:51,000
And of course,
the question there is,
561
00:32:51,120 --> 00:32:52,920
where does the 15-year-old
get this anger?
562
00:32:53,040 --> 00:32:55,920
I don't know.
563
00:32:56,040 --> 00:32:58,600
So at that point, for her,
564
00:32:58,720 --> 00:33:00,040
she'd done
what she wanted to do.
565
00:33:00,160 --> 00:33:02,920
She'd seen the light
of life go out--
566
00:33:03,040 --> 00:33:06,680
go out of a person's eyes
by her hand.
567
00:33:06,800 --> 00:33:09,240
That's just desperately wicked.
568
00:33:11,800 --> 00:33:14,840
She was in the vicinity of
the grave that she had dug.
569
00:33:14,960 --> 00:33:19,280
She drug her to that grave,
placed her in it, buried her,
570
00:33:19,400 --> 00:33:22,920
spread some debris over it,
walked back home,
571
00:33:23,040 --> 00:33:24,640
threw the knife
in the dishwasher
572
00:33:24,760 --> 00:33:26,400
and turned the dishwasher on,
573
00:33:26,520 --> 00:33:29,680
and went to her room
like nothing else had happened,
574
00:33:29,800 --> 00:33:32,240
wrote some information
down in a diary,
575
00:33:32,360 --> 00:33:35,440
and then thought better
and scratched it out.
576
00:33:35,560 --> 00:33:38,560
- I distinctly remember
the front door slamming open
577
00:33:38,680 --> 00:33:40,520
and Alyssa running
up the stairs
578
00:33:40,640 --> 00:33:43,680
like a herd of elephants,
which she didn't normally do.
579
00:33:43,800 --> 00:33:46,960
- I had met her briefly
that first night.
580
00:33:47,080 --> 00:33:50,560
She appeared to be
concerned that
581
00:33:50,680 --> 00:33:53,760
Elizabeth did not
make it to her home.
582
00:33:53,880 --> 00:33:57,520
In retrospect,
you look at her and you go,
583
00:33:57,640 --> 00:34:00,520
wow, she's thinking
she pulled this off.
584
00:34:00,640 --> 00:34:03,880
She's thinking that
she's gonna walk on this.
585
00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:06,480
She's thinking that
we'll never figure it out.
586
00:34:06,600 --> 00:34:09,840
And it seemed with her that
it's like flipping a switch.
587
00:34:09,960 --> 00:34:12,800
She would be this nice,
normal person
588
00:34:12,920 --> 00:34:14,680
that people were dealing with.
589
00:34:14,800 --> 00:34:17,120
And then at the flip
of the switch,
590
00:34:17,240 --> 00:34:22,120
you would get this
bloodthirsty almost animal.
591
00:34:22,240 --> 00:34:25,520
♪
592
00:34:29,640 --> 00:34:32,280
[pensive music]
593
00:34:32,400 --> 00:34:34,680
♪
594
00:34:34,800 --> 00:34:36,720
- She's detained
as a juvenile,
595
00:34:36,840 --> 00:34:38,960
and then the application is
596
00:34:39,080 --> 00:34:41,080
made to try her as an adult.
597
00:34:41,200 --> 00:34:43,040
And when that goes through,
then she's charged
598
00:34:43,160 --> 00:34:44,640
as an adult
with first-degree murder,
599
00:34:44,760 --> 00:34:46,400
premeditated murder.
600
00:34:46,520 --> 00:34:49,640
We have to remember that
regardless of your age,
601
00:34:49,760 --> 00:34:52,080
there's got to be
accountability.
602
00:34:52,200 --> 00:34:54,360
We had a 15-year-old
that demonstrated
603
00:34:54,480 --> 00:34:57,160
all facets of evil.
604
00:34:57,280 --> 00:35:00,120
And she's accountable
for her actions.
605
00:35:00,240 --> 00:35:05,080
If you act like adult, you
can be charged like an adult.
606
00:35:05,200 --> 00:35:07,480
And that's what
happened in her case.
607
00:35:07,600 --> 00:35:10,040
- The lawyer for a teenager
accused of killing
608
00:35:10,160 --> 00:35:12,320
a 9-year-old neighbor
says his client
609
00:35:12,440 --> 00:35:14,320
shows signs of
depression and tried
610
00:35:14,440 --> 00:35:16,400
to kill herself two years ago.
611
00:35:17,920 --> 00:35:19,640
- It wasn't
the Alyssa that I know.
612
00:35:19,760 --> 00:35:22,760
She was on some
kind of a high drug,
613
00:35:22,880 --> 00:35:25,040
as far as I could tell,
from the medications
614
00:35:25,160 --> 00:35:26,760
that we were giving her, that
the doctors were giving her,
615
00:35:26,880 --> 00:35:28,320
and that I allowed them
to give her.
616
00:35:28,440 --> 00:35:30,640
She should have been
institutionalized so that
617
00:35:30,760 --> 00:35:34,360
we could protect her
and anyone else while
618
00:35:34,480 --> 00:35:36,600
we went ahead and messed around
with what's going on
619
00:35:36,720 --> 00:35:39,400
in her brain as a 15-year-old.
620
00:35:39,520 --> 00:35:41,040
- I think that maybe
it was the medicine
621
00:35:41,160 --> 00:35:43,440
that kind of drove her,
you know,
622
00:35:43,560 --> 00:35:45,240
crazy, I guess you would say.
623
00:35:45,360 --> 00:35:47,160
- Was she mentally ill?
624
00:35:47,280 --> 00:35:48,800
I don't think so.
625
00:35:48,920 --> 00:35:51,240
I'm not a psychologist
or a psychiatrist.
626
00:35:51,360 --> 00:35:53,000
But it doesn't seem so
because she functioned
627
00:35:53,120 --> 00:35:55,040
in everyday society well.
628
00:35:55,160 --> 00:35:56,840
But yet there was
that side that when
629
00:35:56,960 --> 00:36:01,520
the switch was thrown, she was
willing to do what she did.
630
00:36:01,640 --> 00:36:04,360
- On her Twitter page,
15-year-old accused killer
631
00:36:04,480 --> 00:36:07,440
Alyssa Bustamante lists
her location as
632
00:36:07,560 --> 00:36:09,800
"somewhere I don't wanna be."
633
00:36:09,920 --> 00:36:11,920
That somewhere is now
a jail cell,
634
00:36:12,040 --> 00:36:13,840
as a Missouri teen
awaits trial
635
00:36:13,960 --> 00:36:15,120
for her role in the death
636
00:36:15,240 --> 00:36:17,080
of 9-year-old Elizabeth Olten,
637
00:36:17,200 --> 00:36:19,240
who prosecutors say
Bustamante strangled
638
00:36:19,360 --> 00:36:22,000
and stabbed in
a premeditated murder.
639
00:36:22,120 --> 00:36:25,240
- She had premeditated
murder as a charge
640
00:36:25,360 --> 00:36:28,480
because she planned it
by digging the grave.
641
00:36:28,600 --> 00:36:31,120
She planned it
by taking the knife,
642
00:36:31,240 --> 00:36:34,440
and she planned it by waiting
for the opportunity
643
00:36:34,560 --> 00:36:38,240
to get this little girl alone
and brutally kill her.
644
00:36:38,360 --> 00:36:41,560
That defines
premeditated homicide.
645
00:36:41,680 --> 00:36:43,640
- Bustamante has
pleaded not guilty,
646
00:36:43,760 --> 00:36:46,840
but a dark picture of
the teen has emerged online.
647
00:36:46,960 --> 00:36:49,000
In this video,
Bustamante shown touching
648
00:36:49,120 --> 00:36:51,280
an electric fence while
encouraging her younger
649
00:36:51,400 --> 00:36:53,080
brothers to do the same.
650
00:36:53,200 --> 00:36:55,120
- I knew about
the electric fence video,
651
00:36:55,240 --> 00:36:57,320
but I guess, as a kid,
we didn't really think--
652
00:36:57,440 --> 00:37:01,040
we didn't know anything about,
like, YouTube or much then.
653
00:37:02,040 --> 00:37:02,920
I guess it's not really
654
00:37:03,040 --> 00:37:04,720
even a big deal for us
655
00:37:04,840 --> 00:37:06,160
because, I mean, people
could see that and be like,
656
00:37:06,280 --> 00:37:08,000
oh, wow, like, she's forcing
them to touch this
657
00:37:08,120 --> 00:37:09,560
electric fence
when, in reality, like,
658
00:37:09,680 --> 00:37:11,480
we're growing up,
you know, around horses
659
00:37:11,600 --> 00:37:13,160
and around, you know,
that type of stuff.
660
00:37:13,280 --> 00:37:14,880
Like, you know how many
times we accidentally
661
00:37:15,000 --> 00:37:16,520
touched an electric fence?
662
00:37:16,640 --> 00:37:18,320
And it's, like--
it's just a little shock.
663
00:37:18,440 --> 00:37:21,520
It's not, like, oh, wow,
like, that really hurt.
664
00:37:21,640 --> 00:37:23,000
- Joining us now
from St. Louis is
665
00:37:23,120 --> 00:37:24,760
Jennifer Meyer,
who is best friends
666
00:37:24,880 --> 00:37:27,120
with Alyssa Bustamante.
667
00:37:27,240 --> 00:37:30,160
Did she ever, in any
conversation with you,
668
00:37:30,280 --> 00:37:33,280
talk about wanting
to hurt somebody else?
669
00:37:33,400 --> 00:37:35,240
- Yes.
670
00:37:35,360 --> 00:37:38,920
In one conversation
we had back in January,
671
00:37:39,040 --> 00:37:40,840
she just pulled me
off to the side
672
00:37:40,960 --> 00:37:42,240
and basically
told me, you know--
673
00:37:42,360 --> 00:37:43,760
she said, I wonder
what it would be like
674
00:37:43,880 --> 00:37:45,040
to kill somebody.
675
00:37:46,920 --> 00:37:48,400
I thought it was
kind of strange,
676
00:37:48,520 --> 00:37:50,400
but I just dismissed it,
I guess.
677
00:37:50,520 --> 00:37:53,480
I wouldn't really think that
my best friend would do that.
678
00:37:53,600 --> 00:37:56,320
- She had been painted
as a monster.
679
00:37:56,440 --> 00:38:02,520
♪
680
00:38:02,640 --> 00:38:05,520
[grim music]
681
00:38:05,640 --> 00:38:10,400
♪
682
00:38:10,520 --> 00:38:14,360
Awaiting trial,
she was in jail.
683
00:38:14,480 --> 00:38:18,080
And because she was a minor
684
00:38:18,200 --> 00:38:21,640
and because there was
ill feeling against her,
685
00:38:21,760 --> 00:38:24,360
they thought she was
in danger in jail,
686
00:38:24,480 --> 00:38:26,240
so they kept her
in solitary confinement
687
00:38:26,360 --> 00:38:28,960
for a year and a half.
688
00:38:29,080 --> 00:38:31,720
And by this time,
she was ready to do anything
689
00:38:31,840 --> 00:38:34,160
to get out of solitary.
690
00:38:34,280 --> 00:38:38,120
So when her attorney suggested
that they offer a guilty plea,
691
00:38:38,240 --> 00:38:39,640
she went along with it,
just because
692
00:38:39,760 --> 00:38:41,000
she knew that
she'd get out of it.
693
00:38:43,760 --> 00:38:47,440
- At that point, she elected
to enter a plea of guilty.
694
00:38:56,760 --> 00:39:01,880
- In Alyssa's final statement,
I think that
695
00:39:02,000 --> 00:39:05,840
as best she could, that
she truly did feel remorse.
696
00:39:05,960 --> 00:39:07,560
Granted, she was
under the influence
697
00:39:07,680 --> 00:39:08,880
of extra medication,
698
00:39:09,000 --> 00:39:10,840
but I think that
as best she could,
699
00:39:10,960 --> 00:39:12,680
she really did feel
the remorse.
700
00:39:12,800 --> 00:39:15,480
And if she could have
switched places,
701
00:39:15,600 --> 00:39:16,400
she would have.
702
00:39:16,520 --> 00:39:22,440
♪
703
00:39:22,560 --> 00:39:24,480
- Since she was pleading
guilty, there was a sentence.
704
00:39:24,600 --> 00:39:27,360
And the judge
basically gave her
705
00:39:27,480 --> 00:39:28,840
the maximum sentence she could.
706
00:39:28,960 --> 00:39:31,960
It was like two 30-year terms
707
00:39:32,080 --> 00:39:33,840
to be run consecutively.
708
00:39:42,760 --> 00:39:45,640
[somber music]
709
00:39:45,760 --> 00:39:49,200
♪
710
00:39:49,320 --> 00:39:52,080
- I look at all the cases
that I've been involved in,
711
00:39:52,200 --> 00:39:54,280
in 34 years
of law enforcement.
712
00:39:54,400 --> 00:39:57,840
This was one of the two
most difficult cases
713
00:39:57,960 --> 00:40:00,400
that I was ever involved in.
714
00:40:00,520 --> 00:40:02,520
Every person that
worked on this case
715
00:40:02,640 --> 00:40:04,360
was traumatized at some level.
716
00:40:04,480 --> 00:40:09,640
But I can tell you that
the technician for the FBI
717
00:40:09,760 --> 00:40:13,920
that brushed the soil
from Elizabeth's face was,
718
00:40:14,040 --> 00:40:15,360
at that same moment,
recognizing
719
00:40:15,480 --> 00:40:17,640
she had a 9-year-old
daughter at home.
720
00:40:17,760 --> 00:40:20,640
♪
721
00:40:20,760 --> 00:40:24,600
- I just never, ever,
in my wildest dreams,
722
00:40:24,720 --> 00:40:29,240
imagined that Alyssa
would have the capability
723
00:40:29,360 --> 00:40:30,800
to do what she did that night.
724
00:40:30,920 --> 00:40:33,080
Never, never
in my wildest dreams.
725
00:40:35,960 --> 00:40:38,880
- Sometimes it's not
that anyone failed her.
726
00:40:39,000 --> 00:40:40,520
She was getting counseling.
727
00:40:40,640 --> 00:40:42,760
She was involved
in a local church.
728
00:40:42,880 --> 00:40:44,840
She had grandparents
that cared deeply
729
00:40:44,960 --> 00:40:48,800
for her and her brothers.
730
00:40:48,920 --> 00:40:51,120
But sometimes evil is
afoot in the world.
731
00:40:51,240 --> 00:40:53,120
And in this particular case
with her,
732
00:40:53,240 --> 00:40:56,400
that's what I think was there.
733
00:40:56,520 --> 00:40:58,320
- So I know that, you know,
on the outside,
734
00:40:58,440 --> 00:41:00,440
people definitely see her
as, you know, a villain.
735
00:41:00,560 --> 00:41:03,360
And, like, you kind of, like,
see her like that a little bit
736
00:41:03,480 --> 00:41:05,600
on the inside of the family,
but she's still family.
737
00:41:05,720 --> 00:41:09,160
And, you know, with the things
that happened to her and stuff,
738
00:41:09,280 --> 00:41:10,720
it's hard to put, you know,
all the blame on her
739
00:41:10,840 --> 00:41:13,680
and not, you know,
other circumstances.
740
00:41:13,800 --> 00:41:15,360
- She didn't have remorse
at that time.
741
00:41:15,480 --> 00:41:18,440
She has remorse now
because now she has matured
742
00:41:18,560 --> 00:41:20,040
and finally understands
743
00:41:20,160 --> 00:41:21,880
what it was she has done.
744
00:41:22,000 --> 00:41:26,200
♪
745
00:41:26,320 --> 00:41:29,200
[pensive music]
746
00:41:29,320 --> 00:41:33,080
♪
747
00:41:33,200 --> 00:41:36,120
- She is much better now.
748
00:41:36,240 --> 00:41:37,680
She doesn't have to take drugs.
749
00:41:37,800 --> 00:41:40,440
And where she is in prison,
750
00:41:40,560 --> 00:41:42,280
she still needed
rehabilitation,
751
00:41:42,400 --> 00:41:44,600
and she's gotten it.
752
00:41:51,840 --> 00:41:54,440
- If her life
changed dramatically
753
00:41:54,560 --> 00:41:58,480
and they could document that
it changed dramatically,
754
00:41:58,600 --> 00:42:00,760
I would say you might have
755
00:42:00,880 --> 00:42:03,600
a more sympathetic
parole board.
756
00:42:03,720 --> 00:42:07,680
In this case, I don't know
that she can change.
757
00:42:07,800 --> 00:42:11,120
You have hopes,
but I don't think she can.
758
00:42:11,240 --> 00:42:14,480
It's so aberrant
to the average person
759
00:42:14,600 --> 00:42:17,240
that you can't
make sense of it.
760
00:42:17,360 --> 00:42:19,160
[dramatic music]
761
00:42:19,280 --> 00:42:22,280
I'm not so naive
to think that there's
762
00:42:22,400 --> 00:42:25,640
no evil afoot in the world,
because there is,
763
00:42:25,760 --> 00:42:28,720
and I know it
because of people
764
00:42:28,840 --> 00:42:31,280
like Alyssa Bustamante.
765
00:42:31,400 --> 00:42:35,200
♪
766
00:42:37,480 --> 00:42:38,760
[engine rumbling]
767
00:42:38,880 --> 00:42:43,640
- To shoot two people
six times each?
768
00:42:43,760 --> 00:42:46,600
I can't even climb
into that darkness.
769
00:42:46,720 --> 00:42:50,520
- The creepy dude was
most likely right there.
770
00:42:50,640 --> 00:42:52,560
- They assume that
771
00:42:52,680 --> 00:42:54,600
the murderer knows
the victims.
772
00:42:54,720 --> 00:42:56,800
Everyone is a suspect.
773
00:42:56,920 --> 00:42:59,200
- Gabby Petito
never goes outside.
774
00:42:59,320 --> 00:43:01,840
- Did Brian Laundrie
have something to do
775
00:43:01,960 --> 00:43:04,280
with the disappearance
of these two girls?
776
00:43:04,400 --> 00:43:06,480
- This blew my world apart.
777
00:43:06,600 --> 00:43:07,720
♪
778
00:43:11,680 --> 00:43:14,560
[dramatic music]
779
00:43:14,680 --> 00:43:21,680
♪
779
00:43:22,305 --> 00:44:22,883
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