Confessed Teen Killer's Social Networking Hobbies: 'Killing People'

Confessed Teen Killer's Social Networking Hobbies: 'Killing¹ People'

 Alyssa Bustamante's MySpace, Facebook, and YouTube profiles are eerie² in that "teen who engages in self-injurious behavior and bullshits about being tough" way. Except, when she lists "killing people" as a hobby? Police say that part was true.

Jefferson City, MO police say that 15-year-old Bustamante confessed to the gruesome murder of 9-year-old Elizabeth Olten, whose throat was slashed³ and who endured multiple stab wounds; that Bustamante planned the crime in advance; that she hid the body; and that, as the Associated Press summarizes, she did it "without provocation⁴ because she wanted to know what it felt like." What's more, Bustamante apparently⁵ recorded some of her more disturbing thoughts and actions on social networking sites:

On a YouTube profile viewed by The Associated Press, which has since been taken down, Bustamante listed her hobbies as "killing people" and "cutting." A year ago, Bustamante posted a video to the site in which she appears to intentionally⁶ shock herself on an electric fence near her home, then goads⁷ her two younger brothers into doing the same.

Alyssa's MySpace and Facebook profiles are locked, but we managed a few glimpses of profiles under cutesy handles Alyssaheartsyou<3 and ramen_noodles_w00t on MySpace and her girly full name, Alyssa Dailene Bustamante, on Facebook:

Like most teens, Bustamante posed for profile pictures that aimed to communicate something about herself. The message is alternately run-of-the-mill and grim. Did the adults in Alyssa's life catch the red flags? Few details about Bustamante's home and school life have emerged, though Fox News reports that Bustamante had been in and out of mental health care facilities:

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    Juvenile officer David Cook testified that Bustamante has received mental health services since September 2007 after she attempted suicide. She had a 10-day stay in the mid-Missouri Mental Health Center after the attempt, and has received mental health services from Pathways Community Behavioral Healthcare in Jefferson City since.

    Cook said Bustamante takes Prozac for depression and also received services for mood swings and self-harm. Cook said Bustamante has a history of cutting herself, but said that there were no indications she was homicidal.

Bustamante has been in police custody since she led authorities to Olten's body on Oct. 23, and was certified this week as an adult so she can be tried as one. 9-year-old victim Elizabeth Olten is remembered as a happy child who loved animals and playing dress up.

1 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

2 eerie   

adj.怪诞的；奇异的；可怕的；胆怯的

参考例句：

• It's eerie to walk through a dark wood at night.夜晚在漆黑的森林中行走很是恐怖。
• I walked down the eerie dark path.我走在那条漆黑恐怖的小路上。

3 slashed   

v.挥砍( slash的过去式和过去分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Someone had slashed the tyres on my car. 有人把我的汽车轮胎割破了。
• He slashed the bark off the tree with his knife. 他用刀把树皮从树上砍下。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 provocation   

n.激怒，刺激，挑拨，挑衅的事物，激怒的原因

参考例句：

• He's got a fiery temper and flares up at the slightest provocation.他是火爆性子，一点就着。
• They did not react to this provocation.他们对这一挑衅未作反应。

5 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

6 intentionally   

ad.故意地，有意地

参考例句：

• I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
• The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所，因此没有资格再获得提供住房。

7 goads   

n.赶牲口的尖棒( goad的名词复数 )v.刺激( goad的第三人称单数 )；激励；（用尖棒）驱赶；驱使（或怂恿、刺激）某人

参考例句：

• They are motivated by the twin goads of punishment and reward. 他们受赏与罚的双重因素所激励。 来自互联网