Attorney: Send murder suspect Alyssa Bustamante to mental hospital

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- An attorney for Alyssa Bustamante is seeking to have her placed in a mental hospital while she faces a charge of murdering a 9-year-old mid-Missouri girl.

Online court records show that Bustamante's public defender filed a motion Thursday to have his 15-year-old client immediately hospitalized for mental health treatment.

Bustamante was indicted Wednesday as an adult on charges of first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the Oct. 21 death of Elizabeth Olten.

Authorities say Bustamante confessed to digging two holes, then killing Elizabeth five days later. They say Bustamante later led them to Elizabeth's body in a wooded area near their homes in St. Martins, just west of Jefferson City.

Associated Press

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