Girl Killer : True Stories of Girls Who Kill

By Heidi Poole

Three harrowing tales of three teenage girls who left behind a trail of murder; Alyssa Bustamante, Tylar Witt and Meinda Loveless

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trellis Publishing
• Release date: Jul 14, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201044848

Book preview

GIRL KILLER : TRUE STORIES OF TEEN GIRLS WHO KILL

HEIDI POOLE

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ALYSSA BUSTAMANTE

TYLAR WITT

MELINDA LOVELESS

ALYSSA BUSTAMANTE

Alyssa Bustamante came from a troubled family. It sparked a rage inside of her that led to one of the most shocking killings in recent memory.

Born to Michelle and Ceaser Bustamante on January 28th, 1994, her parents were cousins by marriage and her mother was only fifteen years old. They moved around the state of California before moving all the way to St. Martins, Missouri when Alyssa was two years old. Michelle wanted to be near her mother, Karen Brooke, who lived in nearby Jefferson City.

Michelle would give birth to a set of twin boys four years after Alyssa and then have another daughter. The teen mother couldn't adequately provide for her young children, however, compiling a record of petty thefts to support a drug habit. Michelle struggled to pay the rent and found herself with three misdemeanor criminal convictions for drunk driving and marijuana possession. Ceaser was even worse, routinely beating Michelle before receiving a ten-year prison sentence for an undisclosed assault charge.

She (Alyssa) had a very troubled background, Jefferson City reporter Jeff Haldiman said.  A very troubled life. Her mother and father both had issues with drugs and drinking.

At the age of six years old, a hungry Alyssa would walk into her living room and see her mother stretched out on the couch.

Drunk and high.

Alyssa's mother was not much to write home about, forensic psychologist Paula Orange said. She would do drugs in from of Alyssa, one time to the point of overdosing in front of her. She would also leave the little girl to fend for herself a lot. She was the type that would say 'there's cereal and milk in the fridge.'

The sight of her mother down and out on drugs, the absent father, and the daily neglect would prove to be too traumatic for Alyssa.

Something in her snapped, early on her childhood, Orange said. There are numerous stories where children are able to overcome horrendous parenting. Alyssa received a lot of help but couldn't do it.

Child protective services would eventually intervene on Alyssa's behalf. They would remove her from her mother's custody and  sent to live with her grandmother.

Her grandmother, Karen Brooke, was excited to give Alyssa a second chance at life.

The grandmother was put  in charge taking care of Alyssa and her brothers and her sister by court order due to issues that Alyssa's mother had over the years, Cole County Sheriff Greg White said. 

It took some time but Karen would eventually be given legal guardianship over Alyssa and her other siblings in 2002. The children would enjoy living at their grandparents' house which was on a large ranch. There was plenty of room for the children to play both on the ranch lot and in the woods nearby.

The intervention on Alyssa's behalf, however, had come too late.

LIKE MOTHER, LIKE DAUGHTER

As she got older, Alyssa would replicate the life of her mother. 

She would pop pills...Tylenol, Thorazine, whatever else she could get her hands on...then lose herself in violent fantasies and suicidal thoughts. 

By the age of thirteen, those suicidal ideations would come full bore as she overdosed on some psych meds mixed with some over the counter drugs.

It was a Labor Day weekend, Haldiman said.  When she had taken an overdose and was found in the bathroom. I think that was one of the bigger warning signs for the grandmother to try and get more help for her.

She took a bunch of Tylenol and something else, Alyssa's friend, Jennifer Meyer said. Some sort of pain killer. This was at her grandparent's home. She passed out and her grandma found her and called an ambulance. She had to have her stomach pumped. Then she went to the hospital for awhile and they sent her to a psych ward for awhile. I know she was away from school for like two or three months.

The suicide attempt was an alarming wake-up call for Karen Brook. Alyssa was only thirteen. Teenagers trying to commit suicide certainly wasn't uncommon among