Prescription drug part of Bustamante defense

Monday, February 6, 2012

Alyssa Bustamante and one of her attorneys Monday at her sentencing hearing before Cole County Judge Patricia Joyce.

Alyssa Bustamante’s prescription for Prozac may have helped lead her to killing Elizabeth Olten, 9, a consulting psychiatrist testified Monday afternoon.

Bustamante, now 18, was 15 1/2 when she strangled, stabbed and slit Olten’s throat on Oct. 21, 2009.

The teen pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on Jan. 10.

Cole County Circuit Judge Patricia Joyce is hearing evidence this week to help with her sentencing decision.

Bustamante could receive up to life in prison, with the possibility of parole.

Dr. Edwin Johnstone, retained as a consultant by Bustamante’s public defenders, told Joyce that Prozac and several similar drugs were developed in the early 1980s, then introduced to the medical profession later in the decade.

But, after helping Eli Lilly — Prozac’s maker — teach doctors about the drug and its uses, as well as prescribing it to his own patients, Johnstone testified he began finding “a number of reasons it needed to be prescribed in a very careful way.”

Some of those came from “severe adverse effect” reports other doctors were filing with the federal Food and Drug Administration and with Lilly.

“They were showing an abundance of suicides and violent events, including homicides,” he testified — especially when prescribed to younger patients.

Johnstone also testified that Bustamante received several different dosages of the drug over a two-year period — including an increase to a higher dosage than ever before, only two weeks before the murder.

Prosecutor Mark Richardson noted the FDA never has determined that Prozac cause people to kill.

Complete coverage in Tuesday's News Tribune

POSTED EARLIER MONDAY

The journal that Alyssa Bustamante kept was the focus of much of the first day of testimony during the sentencing hearing Monday for the October 2009 killing of 9-year-old Elizabeth Olten.

Bustamante, now 18, pleaded guilty Jan. 10 to second-degree murder for the Oct. 21, 2009, killing. Two days of hearings have been scheduled before Cole County Ciruit Judge Patricia Joyce imposes a sentence, which could be up to life in prison with a possibility of parole.

Don Lock, a forensic consultant, was called by Cole County Prosecutor Mark Richardson to talk about his findings when examining Alyssa’s journal.

Lock said he had been asked to determine whether it was Alyssa who wrote in the journal and to also try and see if he could determine what was under some obliterated text on the last entry of the diary, Oct. 21, 2009, the day Elizabeth was murdered near her home in St. Martins.

Lock said his findings concluded that it was Alyssa who did write the journal.

Using an ultraviolet light and camera, Lock said he was able to see what was under the obliterated portion.

“I just “f--king” killed someone,” Lock said was written in that portion. “I stabbed them. I slit their throat. I strangled them. It was ahmazing.”

Prior to this testimony, Elizabeth’s family members gave statments about what Elizabeth meant to them and how they hoped Cole County Presiding Judge Pat Joyce would give Bustamante the maximum sentence.

Patty Preiss, Elizabeth’s mother, wept on the stand, while looking at pictures of her daughter and talking about how she would never get to enjoy graduating school, or get married or have children of her own.

“From what she has written, stabbing my little girl eight times, she is not a child, she is a monster,” Preiss said.

Elizabeth’s older brother and sister gave similar testimony.

Testimony was expected to continue through the afternoon Monday and again on Tuesday.

More like this story

gofish 1 year, 3 months ago

Sounds like bipolar 101 - a manic episode. Prison alone won't fix mental illness.

tigger2118c 1 year, 3 months ago

She is a sick person. Doesn't deserve to see the light of day ever again.

JCLifer 1 year, 3 months ago

Sick persons get treatment.

wow 1 year, 3 months ago

Alyssa Bustamante vicoulsy murdered an innocent child, then wrote about it her Diary. The diary entry reads "I just ^%$$@$@ killed someone, I strangled, stabbed and cut the victims throat. I feel kinda shaky now, but oh well I gotta go to church now. Yeah that sounds like manslaughter to me!! The Defense Team and Alyssa's parent's knew/know all this and yet they still chose to Pimp the system to get this murderer a lesser sentence. I hope they can all sleep at night, because their actions are just as bad as the horrific crime which Alyssa committed.

Yes the JO made what amounts to nothing more than an administartive error which violated Alyssa's Juvinile rights. Yet the Defense Team and the Bustamante parents knew and know that Alyssa is nothing but a cold blooded killer, who because of legal wrangeling got away with 1st degree murder! IPORFBATS! A child was mudered, and we know who the murderer is, but because of some legal gamesmenship the murderer is gonna get away with the crime!!

eshadwick 1 year, 3 months ago

Wow: There are so many factual misstatements and misinformation in your post that I’m not even sure where to start. First off, in what I assume was sarcasm, you follow up a quote from Bustamante’s diary by stating, “Yeah that sounds like manslaughter to me!!” What are you talking about? Bustamante was not initially charged with manslaughter and the charge has never been reduced to manslaughter. I’m not sure if this misstatement is based on your lack of knowledge concerning the case or a careless attempt to try to manipulate the actual facts in order to support your opinion.

Now onto your second and more ridiculous statement: “Yes the JO made what amounts to nothing more than an administrative [sic] error which violated Alyssa’s Juvinile [sic] rights.” Seriously? This is not just the greatest understatement of all time, but it is completely and totally inaccurate. The sole purpose for the juvenile officer’s being there was to make certain that Bustamante’s rights were not violated. What instead ended up happening, however, was that the juvenile officer was the one person in the room that actually ended up violating Bustamante’s rights. This violation by the juvenile officer resulted in the confession (the single most important piece of evidence and the ONLY evidence of deliberation, which was necessary for a charge for first degree murder) to be thrown out. This, you contend, “amounts to nothing more than an administartive [sic] error”? If you equate an administrative error to an employee doing the exact opposite of what they’ve been hired to do, which results in an irreversible consequence of this magnitude, then I sincerely hope your employment does not carry with it any form of responsibility whatsoever.

eshadwick 1 year, 3 months ago

Wow continued: Lastly, you criticize Bustamante’s defense team, stating that they somehow helped her get away with first degree murder. Here’s the deal…Bustamante’s defense team didn’t help her get away with anything. As attorneys, licensed in the State of Missouri, they have a legal and ethical duty to protect the rights of their client. Intentionally failing to do so, as your post suggests they should have done, is not an option. In addition, it is not as if her attorneys could have refused to take Alyssa’s case, had they been so disgusted by the facts, that they simply could not represent such a person. They are public defenders. The Courts appoint them to represent clients and at that point, they have a duty to do that to the best of their ability. The juvenile officer also had a duty, to which she did the exact opposite of here. Bustamante’s attorneys were simply doing the job they were appointed to do, which is to advocate on behalf of their client, and in doing so they were required to make the Court aware of the violation of her rights by the juvenile officer. And had her attorneys not pointed out this violation and her confession had been admitted at trial to obtain a first degree murder conviction, I can assure you that the attorneys representing her in her appeal most certainly would have, which would most likely have resulted in a reversal of that conviction...and further suffering for Elizabeth’s mother and family. Therefore, the resulting suppression of her confession was the reason the first degree murder charge could not be pursued. Alyssa Bustamante’s charge was not amended to second degree murder as a result of “legal wrangeling [sic]” or my personal favorite, “legal gamesmenship [sic],” but instead because of a critical violation by the juvenile officer…or as you would refer to it, “nothing more than an administartive [sic] error.”

karaokequeen 1 year, 3 months ago

How many poor innocent children and adults have to be violently murdered before big pharma takes the blame . ssristories.com over five thousand documented cases on this site....

herekitty 1 year, 3 months ago

Fine if she wants to see somebody die, Hook her up a IV and let her watch herself die! Let her doctor do some of the time since they gave her a drug with that kind of a side effect. And if he claims he didn't know then maybe he doesn't need to be a doctor. An eye for a eye & a tooth for a tooth!

gofish 1 year, 3 months ago

This reads like a true psychiatric misdiagnosis of someone who is bipolar being treated for depression. If you give a person who is bipolar only antidepressants, without a mood stabilizer it can throw them from a depressed state to a manic state (the opposite end of the spectrum). That is how someone becomes capable of a heinous murder and seems to have no feelings about it. The FBI testimony strengthens this when he said Allyssa didn't "act like someone who had murdered in the past 24 hours". Probably not, because she was still in the "high" of the manic state. The journal entries read the same way...like someone that is on a manic high. I'm not saying it excuses the act, but it sure explains it. A better understanding of mental illness and psychiatry are helpful. I've read about a similar drug Luvox that was given to a boy with bipolar who was misdiagnosed as depressed and he deliberately ran into the street into the path of a car and was killed. Same deal. He went manic.

JCLifer 1 year, 3 months ago

Lithium is a good thing.

Mr_Grimm 1 year, 3 months ago

a manic state doesn't doesn't go along with "it was ahmazing" (1. Ah-mazing: A variation (with stronger meaning) of the word "amazing," used by cliquey girls)

she didn't go manic, she enjoyed it! there is more to her than the press lets out. have people forgotten there was a 2nd grave dug? She wasn't done, just got stopped before it was another child (

xhepera 1 year, 3 months ago

Mr_Grimm said: "a manic state doesn't doesn't go along with "it was ahmazing" '

Are you well-versed in the linguistics attendant on manic states? Or did you just feel the need to say something, no matter how ridiculous?

For your information, someone who is not familiar with bipolar disorders, or the normal state of mind of someone in a manic phase, would be hard pressed to to even recognize that phase in most cases, let alone be able to diagnose based on the use of trendy language.

gofish 1 year, 3 months ago

FYI - Elevated mood is a hallmark of a manic state. Study the characteristics of a manic episode online...educate yourself before you shoot off your mouth.

Mr_Grimm 1 year, 3 months ago

my point was i could see her doing abnormal things but to say the brutal death of a little girl by your hand was above amazing makes me think its more than that. Also, yes the 2nd grave to my understanding was intended for another victim. the fact she scratched it out makes me think less of remorse and more towards not wanting to get caught

3DMom 1 year, 3 months ago

Maybe I've missed it, but has it said in any of the articles that the second grave was for someone else? Has ANYONE given thought to the idea that it might have been for herself? I don't discuss this case with anyone I know because the sentiments of so many literally turns my stomach. The mob mentality and cries for blood are absolutely disgusting.

JCLifer 1 year, 3 months ago

AMEN! The Mob mentality is horrible on these forums.

I am so glad the legal process rests with LAWS and is not just left up to the court of the popular (mob) opinion.

wow 1 year, 3 months ago

Eshadwick...my bad you are correct, it's 2nd degree murder that Alyssa pled to. Also we both agree that the JO's question led us to this current point in the trail. But here is where we differ. The JO was present to make sure that Bustmante did not get abused. The JO was also there to see that "JUSTICE" was done. His/her question to Alyssa was neither adversarial nor something that placed her in peril of injury from another. The question was certainly "ill advised" however I see that as no more than an error which is adminstrativly related. I say that becasue in the bigger scheme of things the JO protected Alysssa and at the same learned that she had actually killed that innocent little girl. Now I understand that because of the JO asking said question, the confession was dropped, but again it was due to an administrative technicality that has nothing to do with the facts and circumstances that led a rational person to believe that a specific person committed a specific crime. In this case...the facts clearly prove who killed this little, but for a technicality, Alyssa shoul've been tried for 1st Degree Murder!

As for the relatives of Bustamante, IMHO they are equally to blame, becasue in light of all the evidence which they knew and know. Not one of them have come forward and said..."We're sorry Elizabeth is no longer here. It is a terrible thing that Alyssa has done and even though we love her dearly. She has to pay for senselessly murdering that innocent child." No instead they and the lawyers continue this mess about Alyssa being the victim of a troubled child hood, parents who smoked weed and meth. They say that Alyssa was influenced by prozac, anything in order to save her from the punishment she so much deserves.

Had I been the Defense Laywer, knowing all the information...I would have recused myself, because there's no way in the world that I'd be comfortable knowing I defended THE GUILTY AS SIN, Alyssa Bustamante, who wrote in her diary "I just “f--king” killed someone I stabbed them (8 times). I slit their throat. I strangled them. It was ahmazing”. I could not in good faith know that my only defense was a technical error, especially since the person who made the error posed no threat to Alyssa whatsoever and was trying to help solve a murder.

So yes...tell me I should not be placed in charge, tell me I'm being to unrealistic and I'll tell you that if Elizabeth Olten was your daughter you'd be singing a much different tune. Especially since we all know the person that should be facing 1st Degree Murder actually committed 1sr Degree Murder. Maybe she should not get the death penalty, but Alyssa , Bustamante should be properly convicted and then locked away for the rest of her life!

eshadwick 1 year, 3 months ago

Wow: No, here is where we differ; you’re continuing to use the term, “administrative technicality,” when referring to an actual state law. Please take a moment to go to the Missouri Revised Statutes and read 211.271(3).

As you will notice, the statute is pretty clear. The actions by the juvenile officer were not simply “ill advised” or “no more than an error which is adminstrativly [sic] related,” but were instead specifically prohibited by the above statute. You are also mistaken as to the numerous roles you somehow believe the juvenile officer was there to serve. The juvenile officer was not there to make sure that Bustamante “did not get abused.” As a minor she was allowed to have a parent or guardian present during her questioning, which occurred here. The juvenile officer’s presence was also not for the purpose of seeing “that ‘JUSTICE’ was done.” There was a highway patrol sergeant present who was solely responsible for conducting the interview and asking the questions. And as you can see from the statute referenced above, that was the exact opposite of what the juvenile officer should have been doing. The statute clearly states that it applies to “all admissions, confessions, and statements by the child to the juvenile officer,” and not just to those statements made in response to questions posed by a juvenile officer that are “adversarial” or “something that [places] her in peril of injury from another,” as you mistakenly suggest.

Lastly, you have continually criticized the Bustamante family for not having “done the right thing” because they have never come forward and issued an apology to the Olten family. I have absolutely zero opinion as to how the Bustamante family has or hasn’t handled this situation, but because you have repeatedly voiced your opinion as to their mishandling of the matter, I ask you this…under your same logic, wouldn’t it have been appropriate for the juvenile officer to have “done the right thing” and offered an apology to the Olten family as well? It was of course the juvenile officer’s actions that caused the confession to be suppressed and a charge of murder first to no longer be an option.

wow 1 year, 3 months ago

I tend to think "Zealous Representation" does not mean using technicalities that have no merit to the facts related to the crime to either convict or exhonorate the accused. That practice is what continues making our legal system appear skewed towards court room gamsmenship and not the actual practice and application of the law. In this case the JO asking "Alysssa did you kill Elizabeth Olten" is acceptable enouhg to support a lesser sentence. Yet when Johnny said "if the gloves don't fit, you must aquitt" the nation was up in arms. Forget the racial aspect if you can and let's concentrate on the facts. In both cases there was unsermountable evidence of who did what. But in both cases, court room grandstanding toppled the obvious...and even worse...in both cases the Defense LAWYER'S KNEW who committed the crime. R Kelly, Michale Jackson, that crazy lady who killed her kids, pick one....these are all cases where the system fell vicitm to court room antics. Bill Clinton..."what is the definition of is?" How much longer will we allow the loop wholes to go unplugged. It would be one thing if we didn't know about them...But we do and we're doing nothing to fix the problem. Could this be part of the reason our jails are so over crowed with non violent criminals and our streets are so over crowed with violent criminals. We seem to have lost sight of what true justice is and that's not only a shame. It's something which needs to be fixed!

gofish 1 year, 3 months ago

Maybe reading the judges ruling will help you to understand the gravity of what the JO did. The lawyers assurred that she got a fair trial. It wasn't gamesmanship, it was their job. w_w_w.connectmidmissouri.com/uploadedFiles/krcg/News/Stories/Order%20to%20suppress%20original.pdf

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