Teenage murder suspect being sent to mental hospital

Just a quick update about Alyssa Bustamante, the Missouri teenager who's been accused of murdering a 9-year-old neighbor, Elizabeth Olten. Bustamante's public defender is asking the court to place her in a mental hospital so she can immediate treatment, the AP reports. The wire service also did a little digging into the teen's background. They quote classmates who describe her as funny and clever, but the story says the reporters found a YouTube profile -- since removed -- where Bustamante allegedly wrote that her hobbies included killing people. Who knows if that's just dumb teenager talk ...

UPDATE: The judge is sending her to the hospital in Fulton for up to 96 hours.

UPDATE: Mo. teen accused of killing 9-year-old

From AP: This picture provided on Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009 by the Cole County Sheriff's Department shows Alyssa Bustamante. On Wendesday, Nov. 18, 2009, a judge entered a not-guilty plea on behalf of the 15-year-old-girl charged as an adult in the strangulation and stabbing death of 9-year-old Elizabeth Olten.

Here's the report on yesterday's hearing.

Mo. girl, 15, pleads not guilty in 9-year-old's slaying

UPDATED: Bustamante has pleaded not guilty. The prosecution's alleged motive?

Earlier Wednesday, a police officer testified that Bustamante had confessed to killing Elizabeth because she wanted to know what it felt like to kill someone.

Police testified that Elizabeth Olten did nothing to provoke the attack against her, and that the teenage suspect led authorities to the girl’s body after they questioned her.

Asked by juvenile justice attorney Samantha Green whether the teen gave a reason for killing the girl, highway patrol Sgt. David Rice replied “ultimately, she stated she wanted to know what it felt like.”

UPDATED: The News Tribune reports that Alyssa Bustamante, 15, has been certified to stand trial as an adult.

PREVIOUSLY: In Jeff City, a judge is going to hear arguments today whether the 15-year-old accused of murdering Elizabeth Olten, 9, in Cole County should be tried as an adult. (Olten disappeared while walking home a couple of weeks ago. Her body was later found in a wooded area.)

How do they decide if a youth should be treated as an adult? Slate's Explainer feature had a piece on this a few years ago:

The factors judges consider also vary by state, but based on the Supreme Court's direction in Kent v. United States, they generally include the following: the nature and circumstances of the crime; whether the offense was committed in an aggressive, violent, or premeditated manner; the merit of the charges; the sophistication, maturity, and prior history of the minor; the need to protect the public; and the likelihood that the child can be treated and rehabilitated.

Like all judicial findings, these decisions are subject to appeal.

File photo of Olten above ...

Report: Mo. woman's suicide was really a murder

A man named Bradley Jennings of Buffalo, Mo., has been sentenced to 25 years for allegedly murdering his wife on Christmas Day 2006 -- which he then told authorities was a suicide. Authorities bought this story for a year, but Lisa Jennings' family didn't believe it and lobbied them to take another look.

Investigators originally said there wasn't much physical evidence, but the highway patrol found that blood spatters showed that (A) the blood on Lisa wasn't consistent with a suicide and (B) the splatters on Bradley showed he was actually very close to her when she died. A few months ago, a jury convicted him of second-degree murder and armed criminal action. Sentencing was Thursday, the News-Leader reports.

Update Kidnapping of Carol A. Thomas: Three charged

(Mug shots above: James P. Reardon, Jennifer L. Saling and Erik R. Zimmerman)

From Don Bradley: Clay County officials today charged three persons with the kidnapping of Carol A. Thomas, whose body was found Thursday in a wooded field.

Charged today are James P. Reardon, 23, address unknown; Jennifer L. Saling, 21, of Holt, Mo., and Erik R. Zimmerman, 29, of Excelsior Springs.

The three were arrested Thursday. Bond for each was set at $1 million.

Earlier coverage: Thomas had just left her "safe place" when she was kidnapped.

| Bob Cronkleton

Who killed Cara Jo Roberts?

Don Bradley has a report on the first anniversary of the Cara Jo Roberts murder. Roberts was a young mother from Harrisonville who was found slain in her bathtub. Friends and family have raised a huge reward for leads in the case -- $22K, according to this site -- but investigators have hit a brick wall. Don's story mentions one theory that's been kicked around, but investigators don't believe that's why Roberts was murdered.

Arrests made in Raymore homicide

From Cass County Sheriff: The Cass County Sheriff’s Office has arrested two subjects in connection with the homicide of Steven Lawrence. The suspects are identified as 27 year old Christopher R. Sullivan of Pleasant Hill and 25 year old Monica A. Foust of Raymore.

Sullivan is charged with Murder in the First Degree, Armed Criminal Action and Tampering with Physical Evidence. His bond is set at $1,000,000.00. Foust is charged with 2 counts of Tampering with Physical Evidence and Hindering Prosecution. Her bond is set at $25,000.00. Both subjects are currently in custody at the Cass County Sheriff’s Office.

(Still no word on what led up to the homicide.)

Woman being questioned in Cass County homicide

From the release: Cass County Detectives and Deputies located the white Ford F250 truck seen leaving the scene of a fatal shooting on N. Lyne in Raymore late last night. The vehicle was found abandoned on E. 215th St east of 291 Hwy north of Harrisonville. Cass County Detectives also took a female into custody for questioning. At this time her name is not being released and no charges have been filed in her arrest.

Who killed Steven Lawrence?

From The Star: Deputies were called to the scene of a shooting in the 1100 block of N. Lyne in Raymore at 1:55 p.m. Upon their arrival deputies and first responders found 35-year-old Steven E. Lawrence in the front yard suffering from an apparent gunshot wound.

Lawrence was transported to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead. Investigators at the scene spoke with witnesses who reported seeing a white Ford F250 regular cab truck leaving the area, driven by a female. The vehicle and driver are described as a person/vehicle of interest. Anyone with information is asked to call the Cass County Sheriff’s Office at 816-380-5200.

Guilty verdict in Mo. hospital guard's homicide

In Columbia, a jury has found a Springfield man guilty of second-degree murder for the death of hospital guard Monte Ruby. Jeffrey Bolden, who was under arrested and being treated for an injury, reportedly kicked Ruby in the head, causing injuries that led to his death.

Mo. man on trial for hospital guard's murder

In Columbia, a man named Jeffrey Bolden is on trial for allegedly murdering a hospital security guard, Monte Ruby, at a Springfield hospital back in August 2008. Bolden had already been arrested on another charge, but he'd gotten a dog bite and needed medical attention, the News-Leader reports. Hospital staff testified that Bolden was alternately threatening and nasty. (A doctor said that Bolden threatened to kill hospital staff and he told Ruby that he was glad that Ruby's daughter had killed herself.)

At some point, there was a struggle. Bolden said that Ruby tried to strangle him. Hospital staff says that Ruby was using a pressure point under Bolden's jaw to hold him down. The defendant says he kicked Ruby in the back of the head as self-defense. A few days later, Ruby died.

Report: Teen girl suspected in Elizabeth Olten homicide

Olten was the 9-year-old girl who disappeared last week in Cole County, Mo., and was found dead on Friday. We knew the suspect was a teenager, but authorities, careful to protect the juvenile's identity, had declined to say whether the suspect is male or female. ABC News says the defendant is a girl -- something that surprised me. Not to stereotype, but when something like this happens, the suspect always seems to be male. The defendant is appearing in juvenile court today, to determine whether she should be tried as an adult.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, cripjak!

Hearings start for suspect in Elizabeth Olten homicide

Olten, 9, disappeared last week in Cole County and was found dead on Friday. A 15-year-old has been held in the case and is appearing in juvenile court to determine whether the suspect should be tried as an adult.

New trial for man convicted of killing elderly couple

Kellen C. McKinney, the man convicted of killing evangelists Mildred and John Caylor, will get a new trial, the Missouri Appeals Court has ruled. Why? Because prosecutors tried McKinney for an attempted jail escape during his murder trial. The court says those charges should've been kept separate. The Caylors operated a Bible store on 63rd Street in Raytown, which is where they were murdered back in 2004. DNA evidence helped tie McKinney to the scene. Prosecutors think he got away with $50. More here from Tony Rizzo.

Mo. man guilty of former brother-in-law's murder

Over the weekend, William Clinch was found guilty of murdering his sister's ex-husband outside a Columbia McDonald's, where Jeremy Bohannon was going for a supervised visit with his kids. Clinch had freely admitted that he fatally shot Bohannon, but argued that he did so to protect his sister's children. (The defense accused the victim of abusing the kids.)

The jury had the option of finding Clinch guilty of a lesser charge or even agreeing to his defense-of-others argument, but they didn't. The details probably didn't help: Clinch initially shot Bohannon from behind, then chased the fleeing man down and shot him in the head. And he did it with a smile on his face, the prosecutors said.

MO man says he killed his sister's ex to protect the kids

In Columbia, a man named William Clinch is on trial for allegedly murdering his sister's ex-husband, Jeremy Bohannon, when Bohannon showed up for a supervised visit at a McDonald's. Well, there's not much "alleged" left here -- Clinch says he did it, as a way to protect the kids from alleged abuse. From the testimony, it sounds like a toxic situation: The victim thought that Clinch had fathered one of the kids with his own sister, something a DNA test later disproved. That, and Clinch is gay. More here from the Daily Tribune.

MO murder case dismissed over destroyed evidence

Stephen Akin was killed back in October 2008 in Buchanan County, and his uncle, Kenneth, pleaded guilty to the crime. Before he died, though, the victim told police that another man, Dallas Cox was part of the attack, too. Prosecutors filed charges against Cox, too, but the case has been dismissed because the physical evidence has been destroyed. (Kenneth Akin has said that Cox was NOT part of the attack.)

Who was Zachary Porter?

Porter was one of three people killed in Laclede County this weekend -- police believe he was slain by his girlfriend's ex-boyfriend. (The other two victims were the girlfriend's dad and stepmother.) KY3 in Springfield has an interview here with Porter's friends and family.

More charges in triple murder from Laclede County

From AP: Two more Springfield men have been charged in the weekend killings of three people in southwest Missouri. The Laclede County Sheriff's Office said in a news release Monday that 18-year-old Steven Thomas Pyykola and 21-year-old Jacky Wong have been charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths Saturday of 25-year-old Zachary Bryan Porter, of Elkland, 51-year-old Jeffery Smith, and his wife, 48-year-old Glenda Smith, of Laclede County.

... Twenty-three-year-old Josh Reyes of Springfield was charged earlier with first-degree murder in Porter's death.

(Blogger Kathee Baird says the apparent motive was jealousy. And she says police are interviewing a 16-year-old in connection with the case.)

St. Joe man killed his 7-week-old, police allege

From the News-Press, via McClatchy wires: Ronny D. Rathman, 52, was charged Friday night with second-degree murder in the death of Donald L. Rathman. Cmdr. Jim Connors of the Police Department said Mr. Rathman was taken into custody Thursday evening after officers were called to Heartland Regional Medical Center on a report of a child suffering from “child abuse."

Donald was brought to the hospital by Ronny Rathman. The baby was pronounced dead at 8:18 p.m. The body was transported to Topeka for an autopsy. Preliminary results show the child died from head trauma.

St. Louis mom stabbed 3-year-old, then killed herself

Mom, who shot herself, was pronounced dead at the scene. The little girl died at the hospital. The dad was the one who came home and found the crime scene last night.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, Keith G in PV

MO man accused of killing ex's new love

We've got a little more detail about the case of three murders in Laclede County. A man named Josh Reyes, 23, is accused of murdering a man that was dating the mother of Reyes' kids. (Though it doesn't sound like Reyes and the woman are married.) Reyes is being investigated for the murders of the woman's father and stepmother, which discovered about the same time. Two other men are being investigated in the deaths, too.

MO man accused of killing ex's new boyfriend

And police think that slaying might be tied to the slaying of the ex-girlfriend's dad and stepmom, though no charges have been filed in this point. Story is from Laclede County. Kathee Baird's Crime Scene blog has a couple of posts about the case here.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, Kathee!

Maxine Ballew didn't go quietly

The Warrensburg paper has a follow-up about Ballew, an elderly woman whose body was found in her burning home a few weeks ago. Charges were filed this week against a suspect. The paper says that, based on forensic evidence, Ballew fought hard against her attacker.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, Searching!

Suspect charged in Warrensburg woman's death

Just a quick follow-up on the case of 91-year-old Maxine Ballew, a Warrensburg woman whose body was found in her burned house. Ballew had been strangled, authorities say. Now? They've filed charges against a suspect.