The line about having a zebra hat named Ted whom you dress up for holidays seems a little too specific to not be something Stephanie has experienced, LOL
As someone who has been through way worse than she went through, I am one of the most kindhearted people you can meet. I made the choice to decide to be the exact opposite of my abusers so I agree with everything you said.
@@gamemasterdk1 I have so much respect for you. My childhood was pretty much carefree for the first 10 yrs of my life at least, and still I remember times when I was mean or otherwise unfair to others as a teenager. But maybe that's just part of growing up though.
i’m glad i’m not the only one who CONSTANTLY needs something playing so my mind doesn’t destroy itself with over thinking 😭aka why i love you Stephanie. always giving me content to watch/listen too
I'm right there with you! My mind racing and not slowing down affects my sleep too. So, I find myself watching RUclips videos as I lay down and they actually help me fall asleep most of the time.
@@chirara1071 i feeeel that!!!🤣 my screen time is literally embarrassing. daily average is at 10 hours 28m. youtube is at 6 hrs 58m 😭😭😭sometimes i open up twitter and tiktok LOL
Literally sitting in a hospital bed waiting for my C-Section. I just made a joke to my husband about how Stephanie better post a video for me. I’m so grateful you did! I’m starving, and nervous, and this helps me stay distracted❤️💕 Edit: It’s a girl, but we haven’t picked a name yet😂 also, thank you so so much for all the comments! It truly makes me feel so much better. The Harlowe community is so wonderfully loving🤍 I’ll let you know when she’s born! EDIT #2: Her name is Rosalyn Hope. She’s a good size and beautiful, but her lungs are struggling a little, so she’s being shipped to another hospital for a few days. Keep us in prayers! It’s hard being separated😰 EDIT #3: We’re both home and doing well! Thank you all for the support and prayers☺️
@@mrsp7481 Thank you so much! It’s been hectic, and she’ll be a bit preemie since I’m only 36+4, but it’s what’s safest for her since my amniotic fluid is far too low.
This is something I can’t stop thinking about. The guilt she must feel. Even tho it’s not her fault in the slightest. I can’t imagine what she must feel. Knowing your own sister murdered your best friend. And ontop of that knowing that you were the one who invited her over and you were manipulated to do so. And this was the result. I hope she doesn’t feel these ways but it’s way easier said than done
@@annakariol Do you think this girl would do it again? As someone who works with at risk youth, what would you say is a good punishment for someone who planed and killed a 9 year old? I'm not trying start an argument, I agree with you, not all murders are out right cold blooded killers. Yet this girl I feel would do it again if she is let out.
Oof, the trauma Emma will have experienced from being used to lure a child to her death must be immense, even though she was six at the time and didn't know what she was doing. Imagine carrying that.
@@angelsplayroom I think it was just a matter of opportunity, she would've done it to anyone given the chance. She probably didn't do it to her little sister cause she thought she would be in bigger trouble or that it would obviously come back to her.
I have actually watched the interview with Bustamante. After her admission to the throat slashing, her grandmother was horrified, couldn't stand up on her own and could hardly breathe. She was later heard in the background (after she had left the room), wailing to the cops that tried to calm her down that "nothing will ever be okay again". She was absolutely distraught.
The "girl " should never ever ever be released period! She will have access to a library etc...."life". She doesn't deserve freedom!!!! Elizabeth doesn't get the choice, she took that from a beautiful young girl! She can live with no choices as far as I am concerned
@@iknowexactlywhoyouare8701at first I agreed, but at the end it sounded like the interview footage hadn’t been released yet, so she wasn’t able to see her reaction for herself.
Seriously, I remember being 15. I thought I was being super bad when I would sneak a couple drinks of booze or buy a gram of weed at school to smoke when the rest of my family was asleep. I can't imagine the psychological framework that it would take to actively want to, and carry out, committing murder. I don't really care about the age of whoever it is that commits a crime like this. If you do it, you are psychologically deviant and a danger to society, and for the good of literally everyone you need to be segregated from society.
tbh Alyssa and I had a lot in common at that age - emo, depressed, traumatized, and angry. She is just another example of a child who's been completely failed by everyone around her. But my empathy for her ends where her crime began. There is no amount of trauma or hurt that could justify taking a life, especially the life of a young child. Truly horrific, and just evil. RIP sweet Elizabeth 🙏
I 100% agree with this. My younger self was very much the same as her in many ways, but the thought of hurting someone else never once crossed my mind. Not even close. This is absolutely terrible.
right. my daughter went through the same type of thing as a young teen. Unfortunately got into cutting for a short time, smoking, "emo", depression, etc. It was from trauma, bullying, and other things. But never, not once, did she ever have an urge to kill someone. Alyssa's issues stem from much more than having a bad childhood. She has psychopathic, sociopathic behaviors, which is much different than depression and anxiety
same here. i remember even saying to my friends ‘what would it feel like stabbing someone’ lol. but not in the way she did, i was more like, baffled that people kill people in such a personal and violent way. a lot of the things she did and said reminds me of me as a young teenager. but i guess the difference is, i always cared about others and would never hurt anyone.
I came to say something similar. I was a similar kid. But I never thought about harming others. Prison is where she needs to be hopefully she can get some help in there and I'm glad she's off the streets so she can't harm anyone else.
I don’t think it can be said enough, but thank you for naming your episodes after the victim and not the perpetrator. It’s a little thing that means so much. RIP Elizabeth, may God rest your soul
I don't think Alyssa deserves leniency. At 15 you are certainly still a child but you have a basis of right and wrong. She knew she was committing a depraved act and also wrote about how amazing it felt. I don't want her among society, personally.
I have a 15 year old. They definitely know better. My daughter would never do something like this but if she were to be a psycho like that, I would want her put away for life.
I definitely can see where you’re coming from but the thing about abuse is their mental age could possibly not be 15 when you’re going through abuse you literally shut down and stop developing and go into survival mode that still isn’t an excuse but it helps to understand that
I genuinely don't believe that we can hold people under the age of 25 to the same standards that we can someone older than that because their prefrontal cortex isn't fully developed, which is where your decision making goes on, but that also doesn't mean that I believe that they deserve leniency when it comes to things like this. I just don't believe that we can necessarily hold them to the same standards as a 30 or 40 year old, I think that there should be specific stipulations and things under consideration when it comes to anybody between the age of say... 13 to 17 and 18 to 25. By 13, your morals are pretty much set in place, but that still doesn't mean that you make decisions in a rational manner. And the reason I think that there should be separation between 17 and 18 is because in the eyes of the legal system, the age of majority is 18, regardless of if they're done growing or not, and I would never think of holding 13-year-olds and 25-year-olds in the same bunkhouse in a prison, that's just asking for trouble and fucked up shit to happen, due to the physical size differences at minimum.
I don't care what any of you say, we all know right from wrong as children, unless were high on the psycho spectrum. She didn't steal a packet of Smarties and yell FUCK YOU at a cashier, she killed a kid - horrifically, for shits n giggles. She deserves nothing but prison and to fade into obscurity alone.
I wonder how little Emma is after this. Knowing what happened to her friend because she asked her to come out and play must be horrible, even if she wasn’t directly involved and had no idea what was going to happen.
Emma isn't little any longer but "little Emma" couldn't have imagined what happened to her childhood friend but the experience could place her own mental health in danger for the guilt of the innocent role she took part in.
Probably feels the same way Elizabeth's mother feels knowing she originally said no and then said yes, I imagine it's how all parents feel knowing if they said no their babies would be okay, I don't think anyone can ever shake that feeling :/
@@GabrielleHayes1921 yeah thats a horrible feeling that poor mother. But we never know if that would have stopped her from killing Elizabeth. Maybe the next day she would have went over to play and been killed. It is just something that no one would ever know. I just hope her mother isn't blaming herself for the evil of someone's actions. My heart goes out to that family. RIP Elizabeth.
When she said she held her hand while walking to the grave it immediately reminded me of James Bulger and how they held his hand while walking him out of the mall. The thought of these evil little psychopaths holding these sweet little angels hands to lead them to their *brutal* deaths absolutely just scorches my soul.
What happened to James was so so so so horrific and absolutely terrifying! 😭😭 I was watching a video on what happened to him a couple of months ago and I was crying my eyes out and i had to turn the video off. I never could finish the video it broke my heart 💔
This case is extremely disturbing. The photos of Alyssa's room and journal gave me chills. You weren't too hard on her at all. I think the murder of little Elizabeth was so heinous Alyssa should never be released.
Yeah, up until I saw her room, I was wondering how much her grandparents had overlooked with her behavior, or not noticed... But that bedroom looks like the lair of a psychotic killer. Super disturbing.
I was thinking the same thing about how did the grandparents not notice. Also, counseling should have been a given from age 8 when she was taken from her mother considering the horrible things she had experienced.
Yeah, of course I feel bad that she had an awful childhood but that's no excuse for killing an innocent child in such a brutal way. Sweet little baby didn't deserve that. Alyssa is dangerous and shouldn't be released, she WILL kill again if they ever release her.
I think I’m the only one who doesn’t find her room that bad except the outline of the person. I knew a lot of emo kids growing up who drew on their walls like that and the “it was written in blood” is from a song. The outline of a person with the name next to it was really disturbing that’s the only thing I saw there that was.
As far as I'm concerned, Karen walking out after the girl admitted to Elizabeth's throat being slit, was her leaving the police to do the interrogation she had already consented to because she couldn't handle listening to her granddaughter say she had done so horrific. If she wanted the interview to end she could have taken the girl out of the room with her (or tried to since she would've probably been arrested at that time).
I honestly think she was disgusted and couldn't take it. Her defense team probably convinced her that it was unethical to interrogate without an adult. I bet she never thought of this herself. She's spouting off, after the fact. Which is worse, because now you're trying to get a murderer off, on a technicality. Granddaughter or not, she's a psychopathic cold blooded murderer.
I think her heart broke. I feel so sad for her because she tried and it wasn’t enough. I think that more could have been done but it can be difficult to see what’s in front of your face. She left because she thought it would stop. She tried to protect her, raise her herself and it must have been the moment she lost it. She clung to the last bit of hope that she had. I think that’s what happened with grandma when she left. I feel so sad for her because she was trying. She trusted doctors and tried to help Alyssa but it wasn’t enough. I’m not surprised that grandma lost it. She advocated for her grandchildren when no one else would. Despite her how Alyssa was- she loved her. She was her granddaughter and you just can’t turn that off. Do I think Alyssa should ever get out of prison? No. Absolutely not. I’m not sure I agree with charging kids as adults and sending them to adult prisons though. But she should never get out. Everyone around her failed her. Even grandma, who did try.
i disagree. stephanie was pretty harsh on the grandmother for no reason. the grandmother left because she just could not believe her granddaughter, a person karen fought so hard to raise her in a loving and functional and safe envinronemnt could turn out like this. she worked so hard to get the kids out of their parents lives. that's why she was so shocked. i feel for her and so should everyone else. she has NOTHING to feel guilty about or embarrassed about
Stephanie is like my healthy self-esteem role model right now. I love how she isn’t shy about expressing opinions that may be unpopular but maintains respect for those who disagree- Personally I want to be more like that.
Everyone has issues. We have child dramas, mental issues, depression, no meds, wrong meds, not enough meds…we could go on and on. We’re all hurt and broken in our own ways. But we don’t kill anyone. Especially a child and then joke about it. Life in jail is justice. The most justice the family can get at this point.
@@BubbleBunnyy they are examples. The comment is saying everyone has issues. Issues that CAN include depression, wrong meds or no meds etc. It’s clear they are examples since it would be impossible for one person to have both no meds and wrong meds at once.
i’m so so sick of my conditions (BPD, depression) and my neurodivergency (autism) being used to try and excuse murderers! it’s SO stigmatising. most of us target our anger INWARDS on ourselves!!!
I've dealt with depression, BPD, OCD, ADDICTIVE PERSONALITY, I. DONT WANT ANYTHING TO PEOPLE. I go to extreme measures to not get too close to people! I stand with u ladies!
Oh wow I never thought I’d see this case covered on your channel. I went to high school with Alyssa. Same class year. Didn’t know her well but she ran with a group of three girls I did have classes with and they all seemed pretty unstable. This was a brutal year for my high school. I don’t remember the exact order of events, but within the span of a month a journalism teacher committed suicide, then a student, then Elizabeth Olten was murdered. And the school administration handled every single one horribly.
When I was in high school, we had a quick succession of deaths that the school handled horribly, also. Now, I see that the adults that were supposed to be taking care of us, may have needed more care themselves than was planned for. Not excusing anything. I just see things from a different perspective as I get older. PS, One of the deaths was so very personal to me, I can cry at the mere thought of him.
I knew more people that died in high school than any other part of my life before or after. Between suicides, car accidents, and other random accidental deaths, it was insane.
I feel like she went for a victim younger than her because she knew she would be able to over power easier. Just sick, she knew exactly what she was doing and she is a danger
@@iknowexactlywhoyouare8701 It depends on the school. My daughter graduated elementary school, middle school, and is about to start her senior year and graduate high school. ❤. Some schools even have kindergarten graduation.❤
I came here to see if anyone else thought that too. The fact there were two holes implies the intent of two victims. For sure. Either the brothers or Emma. Bad seed.
It's always so heart breaking to hear "she'll never experience her first kiss, her first child, a wedding" etc, etc, especially about children. God it really hurts to think that anyone could harm someone so innocent. Thank you for helping to keep Elizabeth and everyone else's story alive and I hope they rest in peace.
@M B bro that was just an example that she presented, also it doesn't have to mean that a woman is giving birth herself, adoption is another way to have a child in your life. You're weird for taking that away from my comment
@M B ok then don't have a child? There was never a "she should have lived to have her own child" it just an EXAMPLE of a life experience she missed out on because a vile human being took everything away from her. Idk why you're so focused on this child thing when it was just an example, brush up on your reading comprehension please
@M B nah bro... You're completely off base. Way to grab onto 1 open ended example of something to lose due to death & make it into some kinda social norm argument. Smh.
I understand this comment I have severe mental issues too and I just wanna say...is being alive better?for realz... Like...A first kiss can be awful and in most cases horrible due to young age despite how hyped up it is by sitcoms and movies....and....there r 10000000000 ways to hurt ur child unintentionally or in some horrible cases intentioally if ur mentally not ready.....maybe like allysas mom and wayyyy more. And then, marriages end, love hurts. Just my unrelated ass rambling my shit here tho. Ofc the victim deserve a life especially cuz I can feeeel n see that she'll do better than me or Allyssa actually. We abused kids should die... Not the protected babies who HAVE chances to stand on equal grounds in society. Me and Allyssa and the other sick bitches, who already los. We should die and I would die for a happy child to be alive. ironically life doesn't play nicely. Dont get me wrong tho, I don't support killing lol ofc. And unlike Alyssa or whatever her name is I wanna die rather than kill? Idk. but I do completely feel for the abandoned shit and abused. Maybe she kill her out of jealousy? When the victim was having family dinners we abused kids were in our rooms alone looking, cutting, licking at our cuts. I wanna die so much. Why couldn't Allyssa die why did she take another life..how is that gonna help her broken head.some abused kids success some kill, Difference is who we kill. I'd pick me obviously cuz I'm the problem and I feel all the pain not others...wtf
The writing was literally on the wall. Alyssa’s grandparents had a responsibility to keep the other kids safe by taking her words and threats seriously. Instead they chose to believe that she was bluffing and it cost an innocent girl her life. She should have not been in the home.
Yes I am honestly a little confused on why the grandparents, who were the “responsible” adults taking care of the kids, did not “notice” all the literal writing on the walls??
Its easy to look back and make the comment of "how did you not see this?" but lets be honest, she was disturbed, fundamentally damaged by her years with her mother before the grandparents obtained custody. Working through that and getting those issues addressed takes years and YEARS of work. And since she was on meds she was likely also in treatment of some sort, so to say the grandparents failed is inaccurate. I think they knew she was disturbed and were trying to get her help, but the help wasn't sufficient to have prevented the murder. now please do not think this is defending a murderer, I am not. what I am saying is that when dealing with a family member who has psychological issues there are some mitigations that should be applied. when a child sees a therapist often times the day of their appointment they are going to be extra clingy, or have outbursts things like that... and you are told as a caregiver this is normal. perhaps they had spoken to the therapist about what they were seeing and were told those types of things were common during treatment especially as they dug into some of her issues. Due to HIPPA laws that sort of information would not be shared, even at a trial, so the assumption the grandparents did nothing does not take the whole situation into account.
@@DomesticBliss-ish Yes, i agree. Maybe they even thought she was already under too much pressure to justify going openly on a full war with her about her bedroom walls. Most of us would probably do the same and go step by step and chose carefully what battles to pick up in order to truly help her. Also, I remember my teens, my mum hardly got inside my bedroom long enough to actually notice which posters where on my walls, it was my bedroom and she allowed me that privacy. Alyssa was older than her siblings, maybe her bedroom was her " sacred ground". We don't know anything about their family dynamics.
Exactly! When Stephanie was describing Alyssa's life and all the things Karen noticed were wrong with Alyssa I was like... so you put her in therapy right? When she was acting like a 4 year old? When she had clear abandonment issues and was sobbing under the blanket? When she starting harming herself? Or drawing things on her wall with blood? No, still no therapy? ok lads....
@@demongrubbs Apparently there’s a book about it and it says that she did get therapy but also that she mentioned her thoughts about killing someone to her grandparents.
@@NotesNNotes she was diagnosed with severe PTSD before the murder- and wasn't she given a strong SSRI, prozac was it? How the hell is prozac supposed to help a child writing death threats on the wall and mutilating her own body? I've hear alot of people say prozac made them feel nothing and rage at the same time. My mom was particularly violent when she was on it. I just can't fathom why anyone, let along trained mental health professionals would think that would make her better. An absolute tragedy all around. We can prevent shit like this. But we are a reactive society, it's easier than being proactive I suppose. Absolutely heartbreaking.
I feel like this girl was failed and slipped through the cracks. She even drew violent things on her walls and no one did anything. I think her grandmother probably thought it was a phase, from seeing her reaction to the admission. It’s just so sad that nothing had been done to help this girl to prevent this. I feel so sad for everyone involved. I thought that poor grandmother was going to have a heart attack. You could just see her heart break after all she tried to do for her grandkids.
The fact that she has FAN CLUBS alllllmost disturbs me more than her actually committing the crime. It doesn't excuse her horrific crimes, but she had a lot of trauma that doesn't seem to have been handled well. Again, not an excuse, but her own past and her own actions are just that - hers. These STANS have NOTHING better to do than idolize others who carry out horrific acts. It's freaking weird. It's worrisome how well she was able to hide behind her bright, happy facade. RIP Elizabeth. Such a beautiful light snuffed out too soon for absolutely no reason. Ugh.
Just saw it now when I was trying to find her old RUclips videos. There was a tribute video to her that sent chills down my spine. Yes this girl had a horrific upbringing and yes it looks like she had mental issues that might have been needed more care than what they gave her.... But she still murdered and she planned that and I feel like someone incompetent couldn't do all that planning
The fact there are so many people that admire a child murderer frightens me more than the actual murderer- if they are her fans, are they capable of doing the same? Do they want to do the same? They’re the ones not behind bars…
just want to clarify that personality disorders (including aspd, which is commonly referred to as psychopathy) ARE mental illnesses, classified in the DSM 5, and are treatable. what Alyssa did was not excusable, and I do think she belongs in prison, however it is important not to blame that on a personality disorder. the majority of people with personality disorders (again, including aspd) are not a danger to others. horrible people and violent criminals with personality disorders do, of course, exist, as do horrible people and violent criminals without personality disorders. important to be aware of language around this subject, particularly with large platforms. anyway, if you are reading this with a personality disorder here is another reminder that they are illnesses, they can be treated, people can become fully recovered, and that it doesn't make you a bad person.
Psychopathy is a mental DISORDER, not a mental illness. A disorder can't be changed, it's part of the personality. A mental illness can generally be treated (as I understand from my quick search). Just thought i'd point it out, since you threw me with "it's a mental illness". XD
@@Juhani139 personality disorders are illnesses and can be treated :) often the focus is harm reduction and management of symptoms as opposed to a 'cure', as is the case with many other chronic mental illnesses (eg. schizophrenia)
Yeah, I wasn't happy with the way Stephanie phrased that... Personality disorders are complex and at times difficult to navigate, but they are mental illnesses. And most people with them are regular everyday people living regular everyday lives. I enjoy Stephanie's content, but this isn't the first time her language around mental illnesses has been less than good.
Hi! Psychology and Criminology grad here :) They are not mental illnesses, they are extreme disorders of ‘normal' personality traits. The main difference is that mental illnesses are generally genetic, whereas personality disorders are generally the result of environmental factors. Of course, it’s not that black and white, but that’s the general rule. People can 100% live normal and respectable lives after being diagnosed with ASPD, but violent offenders with ASPD are almost completely untreatable due to the very nature of their disorder in that they don’t have the self-awareness nor motivation to acknowledge their behaviour should change. It’s one of those things where not all people with ASPD are thrill murderers, but the majority of thrill murderers likely have ASPD. This subset that Alyssa (vert likely) belongs to have very little hope in rehabilitation. Had she not been let down by her family and the system, she very may well have grown up to be a functioning member of society. However by this point, it’s my opinion that her personality and morals were set solidly in place and she was too far gone.
Iv heard they had thought it may be for her brothers but then she got the chance with Elizabeth, but we may never know. Maybe the second grave details were in the redacted statements 🤷🏻♀️
Child cases bothered me before, but after becoming a mom, it's a whole new level. If someone brutally murdered one of my kids, I think I'd die too. I couldn't imagine what these parents go through. I'm 3 wks postpartum, and my heart just aches for them. Newborn life has been hard, but I love being a mom. Alyssa's parents failed her... but absolutely no excuse for what she did....
I agree with my and I'm the same way about kids. I'm a Grandmother now and you think it's safe once your kids are grown and then they have kids and then there are layers. A drunk driver sideswiped my daughter in-law and grandson the other day. They're okay but my heart almost cracked in half. I could easily become a Great-Grandma in a decade and a half and God forbid if I live to be 90 a Great-Great-Grandma. I will have a full clipboard of people to have anxiety about 24/7.
@@Andreamom001 The exact same thing with me. The things I used to watch before being a mom became something I cannot even fathom watching now. It hits too close to home when kids are involved.
Wow I can kinda relate to a lot of what Alyssa went through as far as feeling abandoned by her parents and not trusting adults. I was in and out of foster up until I was 18. I still suffer from so many issues from my childhood and I’m 26 now. There are no excuses for her actions but damn they failed her from the start. We have to do better as parents. I’m not a single mom to a beautiful 1 year old baby girl and I think I have made more progress mentally in this one year than I have my whole life. My baby girl saved me, I will do any and everything to make sure she has a healthy loving fun childhood. I hope to raise her to be an amazing human being.
You're so right. This case was very, very far from coming out of the blue, this girl was a walking-talking red flag. Someone growing up with this much trauma, being the child of people who are themselves children and don't want her will always have the potential of producing such broken humans that, already at 15, they'll be capable of this level of violence (but not of stopping themselves). Everything failed here and while society needs to be protected from Alyssa, cases like this have to be prevented. Because once the trauma cycle starts, there is no telling where it ends.
Becoming a mother unravels a lot of trauma. Being aware of your own trauma and working to heal yourself is already an amazing gift for you and your daughter. Break the generational trauma cycle. I believe in you! ❤️
The fact that you’re looking at yourself and willing to work on stuff so your daughter has a good mother says a lot. I’m sure your daughter will be able to look up to you in the future. Blessings to you and your family! 💖
I was diagnosed with borderline at 14. The thought of killing anyone besides myself never crossed my mind and it disgusts me that they tried to use that as an excuse in some way
Here is something to consider when thinking about what Alyssa’s grandparents should have done when they recognized that whatever medications and therapy the girl received were not helping. Families who have a seriously mentally ill child often realize the child should most likely be placed in care but are racked with guilt. In today’s world, there are no safe havens for the seriously mentally ill. Abuse is rampant in institutions. Parents are between a rock and a hard place.
I think they didn't want to make her feel even more abandoned by having her institutionalized for her mental problems. They were trying to do right by her without causing more harm. I'm sure if they had it to do over they'd make different decisions.
I angry, in my country they closed many of these facilities and the private facilities are only for those with insurance. They send the patients back into society expecting the community to take care of them. It's totally insane, this girl should not have been in society.
In today's world the institutions for the mentally ill are far FAR better than they ever were in yesterday's world that's for damn sure. Read Nelly Bly's book.
It really bugs me when they try to claim they aren't guilty by virtue of mental disorder when they have a personality disorder like borderline. As someone who struggles with severe and debilitating BPD, I'm actually more likely to hurt myself than anyone else. In Australia, personality disorders actually aren't even able to be used as a defence for mental disease or defect.
Same! BPD may make me angry but the anger always directs it’s way back to myself so it always comes down to me being the most angry with myself. I can never actually blame anyone but myself…for everything.
As someone who also has BPD, I'm the same. I don't like hurting people (Unless I have consent). I take my anger out on myself. The most you'll probably get out of me if you push me enough is yelling. Never once have I sat there and thought the best solution to my problem is to harm others. People need to realise mental illness is not a free pass to do bad things- It can explain why the thing was done, but it can never excuse what has been done.
It's people like that who give people with BPD such a bad name. I get it, there's some assholes with BPD out there, but it sucks that the loud minority is making the quiet majority look so so bad and evil
Sadly, in America, mental illness is but a side note in our shotty healthcare system. Many people don't even go in for regular physical evaluations, the dialogue isn't there for mental discussion. Most docs don't consider how mental illness plays into it so you are on your own self medicating till you get some indication that there may be more to it that needs attention. It's more typical that it's not recognized by many dealing with it till someone close to them is themselves diagnosed or someone close cares enough to get them some help. I'm not making excuses for this troubled girl, but I am noting that this happened in a country that doesn't recognize a cry for help for what it is. Getting help for it is a whole other issue that isn't as easy as it sounds even when you are on the better end of the economic scale. That's so sad and we need to do better as so many people suffer from various forms of mental illness. Not only should we be more aware of when people need that help but making it easier to get that help as needed, regardless of economics. I'd also like to note that comparing what Alyssa went through with what the rest of her siblings went through as a case for her own sanity isn't right or fair (1:02:15). We are all built differently. Judging what someone should and shouldn't be able to handle is a big part of what's wrong with society today. This young woman not only had untreated mental issues that were specified in depth in her trial. She also had a terrible upbringing that moved her to a Grandmother's care that clearly didn't get that her Granddaughter needed serious professional help and not space. The red flags were everywhere, openly.
I have always thought she was at the beginning of a serial killer career. If she weren’t imprisoned she may have moved on to more murder. The entire thing is just sad.
I don’t know why we don’t have laws that punish disgusting “mothers” like her own. Her mom broke her down, and the therapy afterwards wasn’t effective and soon enough to put her back together. It’s her mother’s crime too
I agree she was exposed to too much for too long at a very early age. Her mother should be held responsible for that. I also feel that when a child is exposed like that our systems should take care…monitor and intervene. Drugs are not the answer. Masking the problem does nothing but make her seem compliant. We are broken as a society when it comes to taking care of all our children. 😕
We need to do better as a society to protect kids. We also need to make sure that kids have enough trusted adults around them that when/if their friends start saying weird stuff they can confide comfortably…without fear of being seen as a snitch. My kids would have told me if one of their friends were wondering what it felt like to kill…shoot their friends would have told me too. It’s all so sad and avoidable.
I went to school with Alyssa and knew Elizabeth from the southwest elementary bus stop. I was a senior and Alyssa a freshman or sophomore (been a few years so I forget what she was) and when I tell you how much this fucked up Cole County… St. Martin’s is not the type of area you expect murders to happen. I’ve been playing in that area since I could walk, my grandparents having a house in the area. It’s just your small town outside of a small city vibe place. To see Lomo Dr completely cut off was insane. The kids that lived on Lomo couldn’t be dropped off at their houses, parents had to come to the end of the road to get their kids. Thing is, Alyssa and one other kid were the only ones who lived on that road at the time that rode my bus. Alyssa wasn’t riding for any of the days we dropped the kid off. The last time I saw her before she was arrested was on the same day she was arrested and being escorted from JCHS by her very stoic grandfather. Alyssa herself was completely blank faced and dead eyed. As I had known her as a bus acquaintance, I waved and made a comment along the lines of “oh what did you do, you get in trouble?” in a teasing way… And that dead eyed look is the last image I have of her being free. It’s crazy what you don’t know about someone you think you at least know the basics of.
I do not think you were too hard on her. This wasn’t something that just got out of hand , it was premeditated. So horrifying. RIP Elizabeth. I can’t imagine the pain her family has and is going through. Love you Stephanie!🖤🖤🖤 My zebra hat “Ted” loves you too !!! Happy Harloween Y’all 🖤☠️
9 year old having a cell phone in 2009 seems normal to me. As said by Stephanie parents would want to be able to contact their kids. Am I missing something?
It sounds quite normal to me for that time, it’s not like it was the 90s when cellphones were more rare, you want your kid to be easy to contact if it’s out playing with friends
I personally think 9 is young. We got my oldest a phone when she was 12 because she started to get more independence. She was the last kid in her friend group to get a phone though. I guess I'm just the mean mom. 🤷♀️😂
Yes! In that time phones where just phones at that time. I had a flip phone at 7 during summer school just to call my mom and grandpa for any reason. There’s was no internet or even texting on it.
I hate when defenses try to use "Oh they are depressed and on medication so this is what led them"/ Like' how many of us are on medication and also deal with shit and we are not going on wanting to murder people
I was prescribed 40 mg prozac when I was 16, never had homicidal tendencies💀It's like the last medicine to make you act that way too, it was so weird to hear that they tried that.
Many kids go through way worse shit that this bitch and we haven't killed ANYONE - EVER! I am 50 now, had I killed my mother and her boyfriend I would have been justified in my actions - BUT INSTEAD I RAN AWAY! The courts made me a ward of the courts, a child in need of protection- both legal titles - then threw me in segregation, naked for 6 MONTHS ! I never broke the law - if anyone had a reason to loose their shit as a child -- I feel I qualify yet I never hurt anyone.
I love the sound of your voice, the way you thoroughly cover your cases and even the sponsors that you use. I have checked out a lot of other true crime channels. None of them can compare to this one. You do a great job.
Maybe she should've thought about that when she slit that 6yr old baby's throat. She should rot. I don't care if she's 15 she's only going to get more violent.
100% agree tho. Never let that psycho out. She fucked up her own life (and everyone else around her.) She PLANNED the murder. She knew what she was doing.
I watch a lot of crime content generally but you truly are my favourite on youtube. You're always so informative and I just love how passionate you are, I can tell you genuinely care about the victims and their families. It's wonderful!
I'm only part way through and I feel super awkward because I literally have a scar on my arm that's like maybe 18 years old now that says hate, I have other words but that's the only one we have in common. I was also put on fluoxetine (the generic name for prozac, more widely used in the UK) at the exact same age. I was also edgy af and drew fucked up things, wrote fucked up poems, had addiction issues, hospitalisations from overdoses... etc etc etc. Uhhh anyway, I'm just sitting here right now under a comfy blanket, knitting a hat that is 100% going to turn out too large, and chatting with friends online who are sending me cat pictures. I mean my childhood wasn't as bad (but it certainly wasn't great, obviously otherwise I wouldn't have been doing this shit so young) so maybe that's a factor in how our paths diverged, but it's so weird to see someone with so many similar key adolescent experiences but it turned out like this. So maybe even though I feel like my life is a shambles, I'm not actually doing too bad considering.
Nurture is a big deal, but so is nature. Everyone is different. We don't all have the same brain chemistry even if we share lots of things in common. Some people are born sick, I'm not passing judgement, it's a real medical aspect. It still doesn't excuse anything but it helps explain. Proud of you for persevering, btw.
same here. had that shit for a while and now i’m doing actually really well. i didn’t have her past, didn’t have a great past, but certainly didn’t have hers. my therapist often says to me “i’m just trying to keep you alive so that you can see the beauty in life” and i feel as though alyssa should have been kept away from others if she was exhibiting signs of homicidal intent with a plan (although i’m not sure if her grandparents knew she was homicidal or not, i haven’t gotten that far). it’s harsh, but sometimes you just need to let people wait it out. and if she never grew out of that, even with medical and psychological treatment, then maybe she shouldn’t be out at all. just a thought tho.
@@AllTheCloudsArePink Thank you for recognizing that. So many go with that outward gut feeling of anger toward the perpetrator of this kind of broken soul, understandably. Their actions were inexcusable, no doubt. But the reality is that medical aspect. Disregarding that is part of the stigma of mental health that our society needs to get past to make treatment more actionable for everyone.
I would be curious to know what experts say about the portion of society which is enamored by such abhorrent, vile, despicable behavior to the point where they create fan clubs and support such monsters. Your in depth work and ease of telling it is greatly appreciated Stephanie!
They are disturbed but lack the constitution of will and fortitude to commit such crimes themselves, they live vicariously through her violent actions. They are not likely to be psychopaths because the thing keeping them from acting out these fantasy's is fear of consequences. As it should. it's distasteful but it could be worse.
The most horrible murderers get the most fan mail and sometimes get married to fans. I live in Denmark, where the two most infamous - Peter Lundin who killed his mother, his girlfriend & her two small children, and u-boat killer Peter Madsen who killed a journalist and cut her body up then dumped it in the sea - are both very popular with women. Both have gotten married in prison to women who were fans.
No one tells these tragic true crime stories better than Steph. I love how opinionated she is and how she’s not afraid to show her personality and tell us how she really feels. Soooo many other channels are just a basic monotoned retelling of the story with no emotion or personal opinion. She makes it feel like I’m hanging with my best girl listening to her spew a story she’s waited weeks to tell me. Keep it up Stephanie, #1 True crime queen!!
I hope Alyssa’s parents are proud of the stellar parents they were. This is horrifying. I feel like Alyssa choice Elizabeth not just because she wouldn’t be able to defend herself but because her life and her personality represented everything Alyssa herself wasn’t.
I have parents like hers, they don’t care. I bet if you asked her mom, her POS mom would say “I did the best I could, there’s no manuals for raising a child”
Did her grandparents ever go into her room? I can't imagine what my mom would have said if I had crap like that on my walls when I was 15. That was the first sign that something was wrong and it was completely over looked. To me it sounds like the grandparents did the bare minimum. The kids were left with their mother for far too long and when they finally got into a more "stable" home, things were going unnoticed. Maybe if they had been a little more active in her life and kept a better eye on her this wouldn't have happened.
I thought about that, as well. They were negligent in either situation. If they never went in there, and let her just do anything she wanted, that's negligence. If they saw all that and did nothing, again, negligence. It should have been prevented.
To be fair, my daughter is an artist and some of her art would be considered disturbing. She isn’t a psychotic, homicidal maniac…just a creator of edgy art.
@@BobbiAnneWilson But honestly, where do you draw the line? No pun intended. When art should be considered as a symptom of something dangerous or just accepted as self expression? I’m truly asking. As a creator of edgy art on my teen years, I can understand both perspectives and I think nowadays it’s even more complicated.
Alyssa definitely showed signs of needing treatment. I think we sometimes just hope that if we avoid issues long enough they will just go away. Cases like this teach us that avoidance can be tragic.
She was in treatment though, multiple counselors, psychiatric meds, and an outpatient program. We want to believe treatment can help everyone, but that is unfortunately not the case.
At 15, I see her believing that she would go to a facility for minors for a while and then go home. Let’s be real, that’s how 15 year olds think. Even sitting in adult jail, she probably thought she would be home by 18 or 21. Because she’s a minor. And minors just don’t have the ability to think like an adult. That being said, I think she needs to be locked up for a very long time. She knew what she was doing and what the outcome would be (someone ending up dead).
There’s things that you left out too. Such as her telling her therapist and grandparents that she was having homicidal tendencies for awhile before this happened and them just thinking she was lying because she didn’t want to take her meds.
@@sadiesue8069 it’s definitely true. I followed this case thoroughly when it went on and have watched everything I could on it. One of the things was the interview with her family. That was one of the things that they talked about and showed her therapists notes and all that. There’s also this girl on Tiktok that was in prison with her for 4 years and she talks a lot about what she was like and all the paperwork from court, lawyers, police, that she read firsthand. She had her call and she recorded it and made videos of her basically interviewing her. She also talked about what she was like now and her thought process behind the murder. It’s very interesting.
"Can we give a round of applause to Elizabeth's grandmother,in her wheelchair....still bein a bad bitch!" Right,lol?! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 That's 1 of the many reasons I admire & adore this woman so much.Ty for simply bein u,Steph! LYSM!!!💕💚💕
Thoughts while listening: Oh dear God don't tell me this 6 year old is the killer. Oh thank goodness, she's not. Oh wait, this isn't much better... If the grandma didn't want the girl questioned any further she should have stayed in the room and said, "No more without a lawyer." She was too squeamish to handle what she was hearing and left, so she doesn't get to be upset they continued. I've been physically/mentally/emotionally abused during childhood and was officially diagnosed with severe clinical depression/generalized anxiety and given medication over 20 years ago now... still never killed anybody.
@ the last paragraph: same here. i think trauma and other environmental factors can make young minds mature and understand things about life very early. i just can’t imagine her being tried in court as a child in this specific case.
@@mack5651 while it might’ve not been appropriate to try her as a tween or something, alyssa was a teen (brain not yet fully developed) and one that spent her formative childhood (her development is cut much shorter than typical teenagers raised in favorable conditions) in neglect and apathy from her very own mother :/ there are tons of vids on yt of infants and how trauma/indifference from guardians affect and upset them (imagine having to go thru that for years til your grandparents step in ..). this doesn’t excuse what she did but they do paint a picture seeing how this is such a common experience among other young offenders .. there should be some sort of separate trials for ppl like this (adults and minors) :( it’s slightly disheartening to see ppl dealt w a short stick in life just be locked away when they do something this terrible > receiving therapy along side doing their time but on the other hand, i’m not sure how much of the damage can be reversed since it does have such an impact on their mental and emotional development ..
Alyssa's grandparents failed her as well. They didn't notice the 300 cuts on her body? They didn't notice the writing on her bedroom walls? Nor the subject matter of the writing? And let's please remember that it took these grandparents at least a year to realise their daughter was a junkie who could only think of her next score. Who knows what Alyssa saw or was subjected to during that time while grandparents were waiting for their daughter to sober up and take care of her children. I know that possibly they would have left any diary alone, out of respect for her privacy, but the self-harm and writing on the walls should have sent off Chernobyl style alarms for anyone else. Poor Elizabeth, her mother and siblings and Emma are the only victims in this. What Karen did after regarding Alyssa is pointless when she was blithely ignoring warning signs, possibly like she and her husband did with their daughter Michelle, too.
My grand parents knew who my mother was. A junkie a paedophile enabler, someone who sold her daughter from birth to fill her covetous needs - and a monster. Instead of helping me, they turned their backs on me, more afraid of being blamed for raising the mother I had. Their own shame made it easy to throw me away...my running away made it easier to forget. I belive the grandparents KNEW exactly who their daughter was
@@c.a.greene8395 I am so sorry for what you had to go through and that no one who could and should have helped you, did. I hope you are doing wonderfully and are happy in spite of your start in life. Much love to you C.A. 💗 Love and strength and healing for you 🤗
@@jennifershelley6938 thank you, I zm now 50. I have gone home once with my two sons to show my mother - I never let her touch or hold them and she didn't ask. We haven't spoken in 27 years and I am at peace with me. I long ago gave the hurt, pain and shame back to those it belongs to, it was never mine to own or carry. I forgave the child who was unable to fend off the advances of adult men. I have raised a family, had a wonderful life and with luck I will have the privilege to grow old, not everyone gets to do it. Live in love and not fear. God bless
I’ve been following this case since it broke news. I was a LOT like Alyssa as a teenager, down to being put on Prozac (which made me feel nuts, it muted all empathy, it wasn’t for me, I don’t even have depression) and, ya know, I didn’t kill anyone. No amount of emo music, eyeliner, and trauma with Prozac makes one a killer. I had more empathy for her when the case broke than I do now.
I've heard an interesting theory that sometimes antidepressants & antianxiety medication doesn't actually cause brand new bad symptoms but rather reduces the symptoms that were preventing the person from acting on them sooner. For example somone with anxiety may worry about getting caught stealing, overthinking & being frozen by fear. Then once the anxiety is reduce they feel more normal so are able to steal, acting on a pre-existing want. Unfortunately that also includes depressed people who had such low motivation & energy, who when those symptoms improve they attempt suicide, again acting on a pre-existing want, just able to do it with reduced symtoms.
@@NotAnotherKuromi That's not the meds, that's just how depression works. The most dangerous time is when you get your motivation back but the depression hasn't lifted. But it ain't because of the meds, and I'm tired of people blaming _life-saving medication_ for bad acts.
I have been on meds that definitely caused symptoms that aren’t part of my normal personality. But to be clear, I didn’t have “chemical depression” I was a teenager who’s mother just died and they put me on a BIG dose. Antipsychotics can also cause some issues that weren’t otherwise there. I do think it kind of depends though
I’m very pro-medication but I’m also very pro-proper-diagnosis especially for very young people. I didn’t need Prozac, I needed plain ole panic/insomnia meds. Still take them and am happy
Elizabeth and I were born the same year. She would have been 22 this year. It makes me so sad to think of what an amazing person she could have grown up to be. Her poor family. RIP Elizabeth. :(
I fully agree with Alyssa being in prison for life, but I was a little uncomfortable with the remarks about psychopathy as someone who works in mental health. Not every psychopath becomes a killer and personality disorders are still considered mental health related. I do think people like Alyssa are too far gone to forgive whether she is ‘rehabilitated’ or not.
yeah, as someone with bpd it makes me feel gross. I understand the extreme distaste to killers and their actions, but attacking their personality disorder that they can’t control is going a bit too far. target them for the decisions that they made of their own accord.
Agree. Stephanie's generalization of the disorder took me back. It's one thing to say this person to need to be locked up, but every psychopath?! Damaging take on this disorder. Sad that this stereotype is still alive and well.
If she could do this at 15, imagine what she could have done at 30, with her own house, a basement full of tools, free to roam the world, and a modicum of intelligence? It doesn't bare thinking about 🥺😱
I have been waiting for Harloween since last year! I have been battling stage 2 triple negative breast cancer since Nov 2020 and during my hard days dealing with hard core chemo and severe nausea and weakness I have been grateful to have Stephanie’s channel to listen to and keep my mind distracted. I am so grateful this year has went by fast for me and I am so happy to say I am in remission and getting ready to have my last surgery for my breast reconstruction and even when I am down for a bit to heal from that surgery I’ll have sweet Stephanie to keep me company and keep my mind occupied once again. Happy Harloween Stephanie and my friends🍂🎃🍁 Sending love from Kentucky 💙
@@davebunnell1105 not sure how to take this comment…..are you being nice saying your glad I’m telling everyone about my health issues or being sarcastic about it?
@@agds91078 Sarcastic. Sorry. JMO. I have my own medical issues, as do most. I do not like to read someone who feels compelled to tell their body's history to complete strangers. It's attention seeking most of the time. Every story about Trauma, Depression, ect, someone chimes in on their issues. Yes we get it.
@@davebunnell1105 well sorry you don’t feel comfortable enough to talk to others about yours, I for one hope I can talk about mine and help someone else….when I was newly diagnosed with TNBC I was terrified not knowing what to expect and I had found many women in here talking about what they went through and for me it helped ease my mind so much of the not knowing but we all have our thoughts and beliefs and I like to help others if I can in any way because it was total strangers videos here on RUclips that helped me more than they will ever know:
I'm so excited you're covering this. Alyssa Bustamante disturbs me so much, and every time I hear sweet Elizabeth's name I just feel sick and sad. I know this is going to be the most accurate and informational video about this case. RIP Elizabeth Olten. 💙
Hearing about her funeral made me tear up a little bit. Usually cases don't make me cry but she seemed like such a sweet happy girl w so much potential in life
I have a pretty boring job: just mindless tasks in large quantities, so I always listen to Stephanie while I work (fortunately I work from home, heh). It might sound strange but it actually helpse concentrate and also endure these mindless tasks. Her voice is soothing, her narrative style is very easy to follow and she just gives off these beautiful good vibes, despite the dark topics she talks about. She is funny, she is empathetic and she is kind. And from what I have seen, she has a beautiful family, and it melts my heart whenever she invites her husband to participate in her videos. Her channel is like a safe haven to me, and whenever I check out her new videos, it's like reuniting with a friend.
I appreciate this video for a different reason. Thank you for reminding me the victim has a freaking name. I clicked on the video super interested in a case I'd never heard of. Then I hear the Killer's name and all of a sudden I realize that I know this case like the back of my hand, I just didn't recognize the victim's name. Thank you for bringing back the focus where it belongs. This is Elizabeth's story.
I was 11 when this happened, and playing in the woods behind my mom’s apartment when she came home on the day Elizabeth went missing. Boy did I get an earful when my mom came home and didn’t find me in the apartment!
St Martin’s is an outlier town to Jefferson City, Missouri where I’m from. We weren’t allowed to play outside after school with neighborhood kids until they had Alyssa in prison. It was scary to feel like we weren’t safe until she was behind bars.
Alyssa deserves to be in prison, she took the life of a child while still being a child herself. Imagine what she could've done if she had gotten away with this, or didn't kill until she was older..This case has always disturbed me. I was on Prozac, I self harmed, I OD'D, I was hospitalized, emo as heck, angry, been through trauma, similar to Alyssa. But I never acted out like she did, Prozac made me more violent towards myself but for what Alyssa did there's no excuse. My empathy stopped for her when she lured Elizabeth to the woods to her own grave.
I remember when this crime first happened. Alyssa is insane. She killed her little sister's friend Elizabeth because she wanted to see what it felt like to kill someone. The true crime show Deadly Women also did a reanactment on it. If Alyssa was set free she would definitely kill again. Elizabeth Olten would of been 21 years old by now.
Personally, I believe that Alyssa should be jailed for as long as her sentence was given. There is a difference between a teenager getting a life term over drug offenses or even more violent crimes due to being influenced by gangs or peer pressure than Alyssa's case. She was not acting under direction from an authority figure. She did not do it to bring in money. She had a loving family in her grandparents to where she didn't have to seek love and acceptance. She knew exactly what she was doing when she murdered Elizabeth with her own hands. PS sorry if that doesn't make sense. I am running on empty lol
I wouldn't say loving family. They were aware of her issues and didn't help her. But yeah, she deserves her sentence. She'd kill again if she was released.
@@elinalukaziak693 okay I could possibly see that, but she was taken to the doctor to try and figure out what was wrong with her and given medication. However, neither of us were there to witness when she was actually taken (before or after suicide attempt) or how her home life was. I do see, however, that they removed the kids from the toxic situation their mother left them in.
While it's sad that a 15-year-old girl was tried as an adult and had to go to adult prison, she made adult choices and took the life of Elizabeth, an innocent 9 year-old-girl, who trusted her. I can't imagine the grief and pain that Elizabeth's family is experiencing. Sending so much love to them!
Discussions like these, on killers' right or not to redemption, always makes me think of Carla Homolka and how she's been allowed to walk free, marry and have kids. It honestly chills my blood.
Yeah, it's pretty fucked up. She helped kill her sister while trying to subdue her so her boyfriend could rape her. She seems normal now, i guess you could argue Folie a deux.
I have bipolar ocd and an anxiety disorder. Which means I get intrusive thoughts of harming myself and others. Mental illness isn't an excuse for disgusting behaviour. There's plenty of people I know that have the same thoughts and feelings as me but we've never acted upon them and never would. Especially what she did to an innocent child. She's a coward and they always pick someone weaker and more vulnerable. She should never get out ever. Love you videos thank you xxxx
Stephanie, I love you, and as someone with a personality disorder, they are definitely mental illnesses. Luckily the flavor I was cursed with is super treatable and actually curable with dialectical behavior therapy. Literally saved my life and just recently my therapist told me I may not longer qualify for the diagnosis as a result of my efforts to get better.
Maybe I misinterpreted her, but I think Stephanie meant a mental illness that would give any legs to Alyssa being not culpable (ie schizophrenia.) Of course personality disorders are mental disorders, but they don’t eliminate knowing right from wrong. That was just my take on it, though. Congrats on your hard work! Wear that proudly, girl!
@@nancymcnafferson3192 she directly said referred to PDs not being mental disorders. It's totally an understandable slip, just wanted to inform her! Thank you so much, that means a lot to me
As someone in the foster care system, then adopted & abandoned by my adoptive parents, who self harmed & attempted suicide in my teen years, i never wanted to harm someone else. She had love & was given treatment, she had chances to get better. The way she behaved at school showed how manipulative she is.
My heart aches thinking of Elizabeth's final moments on this earth. Can you imagine the fear she felt when she realized what was happening. RIP SWEET GIR!! Alyssa is an absolutely monster. She is exactly where she needs to be. Thinking of the families involved 😢 😞 😔
My mum got me a cell phone when I was 8 because my parents were divorced and dad was remarried. But my step mum absolutely hated it when my mum would call my dad even if it was to talk to me while I was at his house. So she got me the cutest most basic purple flip phone and I loved it, I feel like it taught me some responsibility at a young age. Making sure it was charged and learning how to put credit onto it.
I don't understand how parents like that don't end up in jail. How can you horribly abuse and neglect kids and just have no punishment for it? We have a serious problem throughout the entire world with not treating children as if they matter, at least not as far as law and punishment are concerned.
@@TK-ib7rm It's horrific the cases you can read about and just leaves you wondering, "How can you not feed your children and not get charged for something like attempted murder?" Children should never, ever be in these situations. And people always know about it, it seems like!
exactly .. they def had part in the lack of critical thinking + sadism alyssa developed :| and it’s just sad cuz minors have little to no control options regarding what their environments at home are so her and her siblings had no opportunity to develop appropriately when it was most important or receive parental security/affirmations
@@ash5779 totally agree. The whole situation is a mess and by the looks of her bedroom, her grandparents weren't paying attention to what she was up to. I would lose my mind if I walked into my child's room and it looked the way Alyssa's did. I know her grandparents were trying to give her and her siblings a better life but they failed her as well.
Its not only the fact that you are doing great job with the videos, deep searching and presentation, but also giving your opinion helping people to understand how and why all this sad cases happened. Not only one victim here, but only one murderer.
I don’t think you went too hard on her at all. When you make an adult decision to take the life of a CHILD, you deserve adult consequences. I agree with you that she is a psychopath and would definitely have killed someone again if she wasn’t caught or if she is let out too early. I pray she stays locked up for the majority of her life. Poor Elizabeth will never have a life, it was stolen from her…and from her family. So as grandma so eloquently stated; Alyssa should get out of jail when Elizabeth gets out of the grave. I’d be perfectly okay with that. As always, you’re amazing! Can’t wait to see what else is in store for Harloween! 🧡🖤🎃👻🍍
I’m intrigued by your differentiating adult decisions from childhood decisions. It could be a good way of understanding culpability. But how do we distinguish an adult decision from a child’s decision, if not by the age of the decision-maker? Is every decision that results in someone’s death by definition an adult decision? I’m asking because intuitively I agree on this specific case, but laws only work if they speak to generalities. In general terms, how can we sort out which decisions are intrinsically “adult” regardless of the decision-maker’s age?
@@valerielevasseur8674 I think the answer to your question is by looking at not only the crime itself, but the circumstances surrounding the crime. In this case, it was more than premeditated. She had been planning on doing this for a long time, and used others to manipulate her victim to make it easier for her to carry out her plan. I think the pre-meditation of her decision, along with the fact that CLEARLY she knew it was wrong, based on her age and the feedback she received from others her age when she brought the subject up..shows the difference between a pre-planned, well thought out “adult” decision and a spontaneous, spur of the moment, impulsive “child-like” decision that comes along with children not having control over their impulses at times. I think there’s no “one size fits all” law for crimes like this committed by minors, discretion should be used on a case by case basis based on multiple factors, including the ones that I listed. Also, her attempting to cover up her crime and hide evidence, like trying to cover up her journal entry and having her 6 year old sister lie to police for her..shows an even deeper understanding of her crime and her not wanting to get caught. That, to me, also shows that she had a full, deep understanding of how wrong and depraved her crime was, thus even acting more so as an adult in the decisions she made after the fact. That’s why I believe the law is set up as it is, that for serious crimes such as murder, there’s the option to be charged as an adult even if the offender is in fact, technically not an adult.
@@ashleiighhh825 I buy that. It’s about identifying what part of a crime, if any, could be mitigated by their young age and might be a factor they can reasonably be expected to outgrow. With a teenager, that could be impulsivity, which as you point out is not a factor in this case. I’m a stickler for meaning things when we say words (stickler = geek, but you get paid to teach the thing) and I do like your elegant approach.
@@valerielevasseur8674 Thank you! I love having friendly, respectful, intelligent discussions with people regarding these cases. I saw from one of your other comments that you’re a college professor, what do you teach may I ask? I’m assuming English of some kind, but you know what they say about assuming things. 🤣
@@ashleiighhh825 Political Science, actually, but it feels like English a lot of the time. Because we’re always dealing with nebulous and contentious concepts like power, freedom, culture, nationhood etc, the main task is to define the concept *for the present purpose*, then tease out core dimensions and observable indicators. My students presumably get sick of hearing me ask, “how do we know it if we meet it on the street?” It usually takes a bit of training, but you did it naturally :)
I love how Stephanie always gives as much information as possible with so much respect for the people involved. Telling the victims stories always makes her videos worth the watch.
Just a quick note regarding medication: I'm a psychology student so my credibility is pretty limited compared to Dr. Anthony Rothschild, but I've been taught that anti-depressants (including Prozac) CAN trigger manic episodes in some people with bipolar personality disorder.* Mania doesn't imply violence, obviously, but if she was showing some symptoms of bipolar disorder, I think it's reasonable to question how improper medication could've exacerbated the whole thing. (From a 2000 study by Barak et al., published in International Clinical Pharmacology. I haven't read it personally, this is just the source of the info cited in my textbook)
I was living in Missouri when this happened and it's just as horrifying to me now as when it was breaking news on the local tv stations. It seems to me that every adult in Alyssa's life had failed her by failing to get her the mental help she obviously needed, and Elizabeth Olten paid the price for it. It's a tragedy for everyone involved.
Wowsers!!! I can't believe it's this time of year again!!! Way to go Stephanie you already have 200k views in a day. I remember watching you in your old living with the puppies on the couch when you first started. Your channel is what actually got me hooked on RUclips. Thanks for another great video!🥰
Honestly? Alyssa stating that she would, "give her own life" to bring back Elizabeth to me means A) I don't believe it like you, but B) also, even IF she did mean it means NOTHING since she has been suicidal her whole life and her own life means nothing to her, so I see nothing in that action whatsoever 🤷 Also, I am ALL for Elizabeth's grandma in her wheelchair yelling out, "I think Alyssa should get out of jail the same day Elizabeth gets out of the grave!" in the courtroom! Hell yeah!!!! I agree with her 100% *joins you in applauding her*
(edit: i am NOT saying that being on prozac is the ultimate cause or an excuse. just speaking about my personal experience) i dont know if she was taking Prozac at the time of the murder, and obviously she had other traumas and predispositions toward violence. But I want to mention that while I was on prozac among other SSRI's, I was completely apathetic, which is a major contrast to my personality while not on medication. I wonder if the SSRI's contributed in some way in her ability to finally carry this task out
@@elisseowens1039 thanks i just got to that part in the video :) i however dont believe being on SSRI's is any excuse. just may be a contributing factor. i never physically harmed anyone while in this state, there is no excuse.
@@busyizzyyyy yeah I agree, but I can't help but also think that it may have been a contributing factor along with her horrible childhood. It sort of reminds me of that documentary "child of rage". It's still no excuse for her actions, but I do feel that she was failed by the system. Her behaviors leading up to the murder should have been huge red flags for her gaurdians.
I became extremely aggressive when I was prescribed it. If they'd doubled my dose I have no doubt I could have killed someone myself. I couldn't control my emotions. Just lucky my dr noticed & got me off it immediately.
Isabel... just because you didn't have a reaction it doesn't mean others won't. Every human body is different and reacts differently to medications and other substances. You may be able to eat shellfish whereas it might kill someone else with an allergy. For every medication there is a long list of side effects... some you may get... others you won't... but they are all included because during the human testing phase of trials... somebody had that reaction. And they might just be one of only a few in the world that have that reaction. So before you judge... maybe get a little bit more info.
I love listening to you tell these cases! Like most others who follow you, and who have for a long time now like me, I feel like family. Thanks for making your channel comfortable and easy to listen and learn! We love you Steph!
I am absolutely going to blame Alyssa’s parents for this murder. She too, of course is at fault. But I hope her parents live with this guilt til the day they die. Absolutely disturbing
@@TejubescDM 100% agree, if u saw my comment it clearly places blame on Alyssa too. But too many “parents” bring kids into this world and neglect, abuse and don’t do a single thing to help their troubled child. Leading to a lot of tragedies. So yes, she is evil but her parents are too blame too. For not getting her any help, for not taking any accountability at all. Ok?? So ur young and drug addicts. Put her up for adoption. Notice YOUR kid has mental health issues? Get them help. So yes, they may have have not murdered her but they definitely didn’t do anything to prevent this tragedy from happening and as parents it is our responsibility to guide our children to some degree. And they subjected her to all kinds of horrific childhood abuse who knows what else that probably contributed to this tragedy to occur.
I agree with you about grandma. I've said the exact same thing. She just said she killed someone. It was grandma's choice to get up and leave the room.
Exactly.. she could have spoken up and asked for a lawyer or asked for the questioning to halt for a minute to process what her granddaughter admitted to. I cannot imagine how I would have reacted.. probably would have flipped out right then and there. And I pray to God I never know what either side feels like. My heart does go out to both families (more so for Elizabeths family) BUT again, her grandmother chose to walk out, leaving her granddaughter in the room to continue admitting what she had done. If anything, you would think she would have had a little more consideration for that baby girl who had her life taken for no reason other than pure evil and her family!!!
@@southernladyish I agree. She has to be a decent person to have taken in and cared so much for her grandchildren. Alyssa had killed someone she was no longer innocent but her 9 year old victim was
I saw the thumbnail when you posted this and thought "Ugh I have seen so many videos about this pos (Alyssa) they're all the same and have been done to death. I finally caved and I'm so glad I did, thank you for making this about Elizabeth and not Alyssa like all the other videos I've seen. All your videos are so amazing and done way different than everyone else and I love that.
Once I went Stephanie I can’t go back 👑 I can hardly handle listening to other true crime you tubers now .. SNS! The level of details and accuracy is everything 🪄🤓
The line about having a zebra hat named Ted whom you dress up for holidays seems a little too specific to not be something Stephanie has experienced, LOL
It isn’t but… I would definitely do that, if the right zebra hat came along 😍
Right !!! I was like hmmm who does this in Stephanies life lmao
Omg I thought the same exact thing. Haha.
As someone who has been through way worse than she went through, I am one of the most kindhearted people you can meet. I made the choice to decide to be the exact opposite of my abusers so I agree with everything you said.
@@gamemasterdk1 I have so much respect for you. My childhood was pretty much carefree for the first 10 yrs of my life at least, and still I remember times when I was mean or otherwise unfair to others as a teenager. But maybe that's just part of growing up though.
i’m glad i’m not the only one who CONSTANTLY needs something playing so my mind doesn’t destroy itself with over thinking 😭aka why i love you Stephanie. always giving me content to watch/listen too
I'm right there with you! My mind racing and not slowing down affects my sleep too. So, I find myself watching RUclips videos as I lay down and they actually help me fall asleep most of the time.
Saaaame. My screen time is an offense because I always have RUclips running in the background while I do literally anything.
@@chirara1071 i feeeel that!!!🤣 my screen time is literally embarrassing. daily average is at 10 hours 28m. youtube is at 6 hrs 58m 😭😭😭sometimes i open up twitter and tiktok LOL
@@paigecarlson6464 same🤣
Same that’s why I listen to Stephanie 24/7😂
Literally sitting in a hospital bed waiting for my C-Section. I just made a joke to my husband about how Stephanie better post a video for me. I’m so grateful you did! I’m starving, and nervous, and this helps me stay distracted❤️💕
Edit: It’s a girl, but we haven’t picked a name yet😂 also, thank you so so much for all the comments! It truly makes me feel so much better. The Harlowe community is so wonderfully loving🤍 I’ll let you know when she’s born!
EDIT #2: Her name is Rosalyn Hope. She’s a good size and beautiful, but her lungs are struggling a little, so she’s being shipped to another hospital for a few days. Keep us in prayers! It’s hard being separated😰
EDIT #3: We’re both home and doing well! Thank you all for the support and prayers☺️
Hey! Good luck hun! Wish you and the fam all the best! The Harlowe Squad is behind you! Keep us posted when you can ♥
Congrats on you’re precious baby, you got this!
@@mrsp7481 Thank you so much! It’s been hectic, and she’ll be a bit preemie since I’m only 36+4, but it’s what’s safest for her since my amniotic fluid is far too low.
Happy birthing sweetie! Good luck with everything and have fun with your sweet little one🎉🎊🎉🎊
Omg congratulations!!!!!!!!!!! Good luck!!!! We got you girl!!! Boy or girl?!
I feel sorry for Alyssa’s litter sister. To carry the weight of knowing you were manipulated into luring your friend to her death.
This is something I can’t stop thinking about. The guilt she must feel. Even tho it’s not her fault in the slightest. I can’t imagine what she must feel. Knowing your own sister murdered your best friend. And ontop of that knowing that you were the one who invited her over and you were manipulated to do so. And this was the result. I hope she doesn’t feel these ways but it’s way easier said than done
Do u guys think there was a reason Allyssa picked beth? Or was it random? Or chosen?
@@xandrias6411 Do u guys think there was a reason Allyssa picked beth? Or was it random? Or chosen?
I think she considered killing her siblings first. They are very lucky. I definitely think she chose Elizabeth.
@@angelsplayroom creepy af
"Let her out when Elizabeth gets out of the grave" perfectly said
I feel this should be the punishment for all murderers! Eye for an eye but make it ✨passive aggressive✨
Some people should not only get help with pregnancies but not be allowed to continue! So many lives ruined
Very true statement
@@annakariol Do you think this girl would do it again? As someone who works with at risk youth, what would you say is a good punishment for someone who planed and killed a 9 year old? I'm not trying start an argument, I agree with you, not all murders are out right cold blooded killers. Yet this girl I feel would do it again if she is let out.
Agree
Oof, the trauma Emma will have experienced from being used to lure a child to her death must be immense, even though she was six at the time and didn't know what she was doing. Imagine carrying that.
Ikr. So unfortunate
This story is so heartbreaking...
right?? losing her big sister and having a child die in the process. poor kid had already been through immense trauma up to that point.
Do u guys think there was a reason Allyssa picked beth? Or was it random? Or chosen?
@@angelsplayroom I think it was just a matter of opportunity, she would've done it to anyone given the chance. She probably didn't do it to her little sister cause she thought she would be in bigger trouble or that it would obviously come back to her.
I have actually watched the interview with Bustamante. After her admission to the throat slashing, her grandmother was horrified, couldn't stand up on her own and could hardly breathe. She was later heard in the background (after she had left the room), wailing to the cops that tried to calm her down that "nothing will ever be okay again". She was absolutely distraught.
The "girl " should never ever ever be released period! She will have access to a library etc...."life". She doesn't deserve freedom!!!! Elizabeth doesn't get the choice, she took that from a beautiful young girl! She can live with no choices as far as I am concerned
I saw that one too, I'll never forget her grandma breaking down in pure grief and horror. That evil girl destroyed two families that day.
I saw it too, I felt for the grandma.
absolutely. i feel like stephanie was pretty harsh on her for no reason :/
@@iknowexactlywhoyouare8701at first I agreed, but at the end it sounded like the interview footage hadn’t been released yet, so she wasn’t able to see her reaction for herself.
"You might think I went too hard on Alyssa."
me: go harder
Exactly!
Go ahead don't hesitate, she deserves it.
Hahah I said the same!
lol Same.
Seriously, I remember being 15. I thought I was being super bad when I would sneak a couple drinks of booze or buy a gram of weed at school to smoke when the rest of my family was asleep.
I can't imagine the psychological framework that it would take to actively want to, and carry out, committing murder.
I don't really care about the age of whoever it is that commits a crime like this. If you do it, you are psychologically deviant and a danger to society, and for the good of literally everyone you need to be segregated from society.
tbh Alyssa and I had a lot in common at that age - emo, depressed, traumatized, and angry. She is just another example of a child who's been completely failed by everyone around her. But my empathy for her ends where her crime began. There is no amount of trauma or hurt that could justify taking a life, especially the life of a young child. Truly horrific, and just evil. RIP sweet Elizabeth 🙏
Well said, Katie. x
I 100% agree with this. My younger self was very much the same as her in many ways, but the thought of hurting someone else never once crossed my mind. Not even close. This is absolutely terrible.
right. my daughter went through the same type of thing as a young teen. Unfortunately got into cutting for a short time, smoking, "emo", depression, etc. It was from trauma, bullying, and other things. But never, not once, did she ever have an urge to kill someone. Alyssa's issues stem from much more than having a bad childhood. She has psychopathic, sociopathic behaviors, which is much different than depression and anxiety
same here. i remember even saying to my friends ‘what would it feel like stabbing someone’ lol. but not in the way she did, i was more like, baffled that people kill people in such a personal and violent way. a lot of the things she did and said reminds me of me as a young teenager. but i guess the difference is, i always cared about others and would never hurt anyone.
I came to say something similar. I was a similar kid. But I never thought about harming others. Prison is where she needs to be hopefully she can get some help in there and I'm glad she's off the streets so she can't harm anyone else.
I don’t think it can be said enough, but thank you for naming your episodes after the victim and not the perpetrator. It’s a little thing that means so much.
RIP Elizabeth, may God rest your soul
I don't think Alyssa deserves leniency. At 15 you are certainly still a child but you have a basis of right and wrong. She knew she was committing a depraved act and also wrote about how amazing it felt. I don't want her among society, personally.
I have a 15 year old. They definitely know better. My daughter would never do something like this but if she were to be a psycho like that, I would want her put away for life.
Same.
I definitely can see where you’re coming from but the thing about abuse is their mental age could possibly not be 15 when you’re going through abuse you literally shut down and stop developing and go into survival mode that still isn’t an excuse but it helps to understand that
I genuinely don't believe that we can hold people under the age of 25 to the same standards that we can someone older than that because their prefrontal cortex isn't fully developed, which is where your decision making goes on, but that also doesn't mean that I believe that they deserve leniency when it comes to things like this. I just don't believe that we can necessarily hold them to the same standards as a 30 or 40 year old, I think that there should be specific stipulations and things under consideration when it comes to anybody between the age of say... 13 to 17 and 18 to 25. By 13, your morals are pretty much set in place, but that still doesn't mean that you make decisions in a rational manner. And the reason I think that there should be separation between 17 and 18 is because in the eyes of the legal system, the age of majority is 18, regardless of if they're done growing or not, and I would never think of holding 13-year-olds and 25-year-olds in the same bunkhouse in a prison, that's just asking for trouble and fucked up shit to happen, due to the physical size differences at minimum.
I don't care what any of you say, we all know right from wrong as children, unless were high on the psycho spectrum. She didn't steal a packet of Smarties and yell FUCK YOU at a cashier, she killed a kid - horrifically, for shits n giggles. She deserves nothing but prison and to fade into obscurity alone.
I wonder how little Emma is after this. Knowing what happened to her friend because she asked her to come out and play must be horrible, even if she wasn’t directly involved and had no idea what was going to happen.
I was just thinking about that. That would be such a heavy burden to carry.
It's my understanding that Alyssa had Emma lure her friend out. So I hope they've gotten her therapy.
Emma isn't little any longer but "little Emma" couldn't have imagined what happened to her childhood friend but the experience could place her own mental health in danger for the guilt of the innocent role she took part in.
Probably feels the same way Elizabeth's mother feels knowing she originally said no and then said yes, I imagine it's how all parents feel knowing if they said no their babies would be okay, I don't think anyone can ever shake that feeling :/
@@GabrielleHayes1921 yeah thats a horrible feeling that poor mother. But we never know if that would have stopped her from killing Elizabeth. Maybe the next day she would have went over to play and been killed. It is just something that no one would ever know. I just hope her mother isn't blaming herself for the evil of someone's actions. My heart goes out to that family. RIP Elizabeth.
When she said she held her hand while walking to the grave it immediately reminded me of James Bulger and how they held his hand while walking him out of the mall. The thought of these evil little psychopaths holding these sweet little angels hands to lead them to their *brutal* deaths absolutely just scorches my soul.
What happened to James was so so so so horrific and absolutely terrifying! 😭😭 I was watching a video on what happened to him a couple of months ago and I was crying my eyes out and i had to turn the video off. I never could finish the video it broke my heart 💔
It's heartbreaking. The victims trusted their killers enough to hold hands with them. 😢
This case is extremely disturbing. The photos of Alyssa's room and journal gave me chills. You weren't too hard on her at all. I think the murder of little Elizabeth was so heinous Alyssa should never be released.
Yeah, up until I saw her room, I was wondering how much her grandparents had overlooked with her behavior, or not noticed... But that bedroom looks like the lair of a psychotic killer. Super disturbing.
@@scottcantdance804 I had the same thoughts. There's no way they didn't notice that room.
I was thinking the same thing about how did the grandparents not notice. Also, counseling should have been a given from age 8 when she was taken from her mother considering the horrible things she had experienced.
Yeah, of course I feel bad that she had an awful childhood but that's no excuse for killing an innocent child in such a brutal way. Sweet little baby didn't deserve that. Alyssa is dangerous and shouldn't be released, she WILL kill again if they ever release her.
I think I’m the only one who doesn’t find her room that bad except the outline of the person. I knew a lot of emo kids growing up who drew on their walls like that and the “it was written in blood” is from a song. The outline of a person with the name next to it was really disturbing that’s the only thing I saw there that was.
As far as I'm concerned, Karen walking out after the girl admitted to Elizabeth's throat being slit, was her leaving the police to do the interrogation she had already consented to because she couldn't handle listening to her granddaughter say she had done so horrific. If she wanted the interview to end she could have taken the girl out of the room with her (or tried to since she would've probably been arrested at that time).
Yep!!
She is a very weak and pathetic woman.
I honestly think she was disgusted and couldn't take it. Her defense team probably convinced her that it was unethical to interrogate without an adult. I bet she never thought of this herself. She's spouting off, after the fact.
Which is worse, because now you're trying to get a murderer off, on a technicality. Granddaughter or not, she's a psychopathic cold blooded murderer.
I think her heart broke. I feel so sad for her because she tried and it wasn’t enough. I think that more could have been done but it can be difficult to see what’s in front of your face. She left because she thought it would stop. She tried to protect her, raise her herself and it must have been the moment she lost it. She clung to the last bit of hope that she had.
I think that’s what happened with grandma when she left.
I feel so sad for her because she was trying. She trusted doctors and tried to help Alyssa but it wasn’t enough. I’m not surprised that grandma lost it. She advocated for her grandchildren when no one else would. Despite her how Alyssa was- she loved her. She was her granddaughter and you just can’t turn that off.
Do I think Alyssa should ever get out of prison? No. Absolutely not. I’m not sure I agree with charging kids as adults and sending them to adult prisons though. But she should never get out. Everyone around her failed her. Even grandma, who did try.
i disagree. stephanie was pretty harsh on the grandmother for no reason. the grandmother left because she just could not believe her granddaughter, a person karen fought so hard to raise her in a loving and functional and safe envinronemnt could turn out like this. she worked so hard to get the kids out of their parents lives. that's why she was so shocked. i feel for her and so should everyone else. she has NOTHING to feel guilty about or embarrassed about
Stephanie is like my healthy self-esteem role model right now. I love how she isn’t shy about expressing opinions that may be unpopular but maintains respect for those who disagree- Personally I want to be more like that.
If only everyone was😁
Do u guys think there was a reason Allyssa picked beth? Or was it random? Or chosen?
@@angelsplayroom creepy af
Everyone has issues. We have child dramas, mental issues, depression, no meds, wrong meds, not enough meds…we could go on and on. We’re all hurt and broken in our own ways. But we don’t kill anyone. Especially a child and then joke about it. Life in jail is justice. The most justice the family can get at this point.
No, not everyone is depressed. And not everyone has childhood trauma.
Meds aren't the answer treating each other right is.
@@BubbleBunnyy the comment literally doesn’t say that
@@WowzaTalent "Everyone has issues. We have child dramas, mental issues, depression"
@@BubbleBunnyy they are examples. The comment is saying everyone has issues. Issues that CAN include depression, wrong meds or no meds etc. It’s clear they are examples since it would be impossible for one person to have both no meds and wrong meds at once.
i’m so so sick of my conditions (BPD, depression) and my neurodivergency (autism) being used to try and excuse murderers! it’s SO stigmatising. most of us target our anger INWARDS on ourselves!!!
I scrolled down and saw your comment. You're not alone, I agree. I made a comment, too. I hope she sees what we said.
same
Same
I've dealt with depression, BPD, OCD, ADDICTIVE PERSONALITY, I. DONT WANT ANYTHING TO PEOPLE. I go to extreme measures to not get too close to people! I stand with u ladies!
@@reginarowland8875 thanks
Oh wow I never thought I’d see this case covered on your channel. I went to high school with Alyssa. Same class year. Didn’t know her well but she ran with a group of three girls I did have classes with and they all seemed pretty unstable. This was a brutal year for my high school. I don’t remember the exact order of events, but within the span of a month a journalism teacher committed suicide, then a student, then Elizabeth Olten was murdered. And the school administration handled every single one horribly.
:(
I’m curious if Emma changed her name to protect herself, or how she’s doing now. Hopefully everything works out for her.
I was gonna mention high school too. I was in 8th grade, but I remember the freshmen saying she was so weird.
When I was in high school, we had a quick succession of deaths that the school handled horribly, also. Now, I see that the adults that were supposed to be taking care of us, may have needed more care themselves than was planned for.
Not excusing anything. I just see things from a different perspective as I get older.
PS, One of the deaths was so very personal to me, I can cry at the mere thought of him.
I knew more people that died in high school than any other part of my life before or after. Between suicides, car accidents, and other random accidental deaths, it was insane.
I feel like she went for a victim younger than her because she knew she would be able to over power easier. Just sick, she knew exactly what she was doing and she is a danger
Agree. She chose her victim on purpose. Really surprising she didn't start with animals like we hear with many killers.
@@LizStaples she did? She told the fbi she liked to dig holes and bury animals.
One thing I've always admired about your way to bring us these cases is how your titles and essays ALWAYS focus on the victims
"How many signs this girl is a ticking time bomb do you need?" - Americans: "Yes!"
"she took away her ability to graduate high school" she took away her ability to graduate ELEMENTARY school
Premeditation + Brutality = LIFE!!!!
💯💯💯🤬
I don’t think one necessarily “graduates” elementary school. It’s only high school you first graduate out of
@@iknowexactlywhoyouare8701 It depends on the school. My daughter graduated elementary school, middle school, and is about to start her senior year and graduate high school. ❤. Some schools even have kindergarten graduation.❤
She dug two graves. I think the second one may have been for her sister. Could that be the missing part of her confession?
Yeah most likely
I think so too
I agree
she was planning on killing her two brothers, but she thought elizabeth would be easier to kill.
I came here to see if anyone else thought that too. The fact there were two holes implies the intent of two victims. For sure. Either the brothers or Emma. Bad seed.
I’m actually surprised that her siblings were never seriously harmed. They weren’t killed just by pure luck. Rest In Peace Elizabeth.
It's always so heart breaking to hear "she'll never experience her first kiss, her first child, a wedding" etc, etc, especially about children. God it really hurts to think that anyone could harm someone so innocent. Thank you for helping to keep Elizabeth and everyone else's story alive and I hope they rest in peace.
@M B Exactly. I don’t think I do
@M B bro that was just an example that she presented, also it doesn't have to mean that a woman is giving birth herself, adoption is another way to have a child in your life. You're weird for taking that away from my comment
@M B ok then don't have a child? There was never a "she should have lived to have her own child" it just an EXAMPLE of a life experience she missed out on because a vile human being took everything away from her. Idk why you're so focused on this child thing when it was just an example, brush up on your reading comprehension please
@M B nah bro... You're completely off base. Way to grab onto 1 open ended example of something to lose due to death & make it into some kinda social norm argument. Smh.
I understand this comment I have severe mental issues too and I just wanna say...is being alive better?for realz... Like...A first kiss can be awful and in most cases horrible due to young age despite how hyped up it is by sitcoms and movies....and....there r 10000000000 ways to hurt ur child unintentionally or in some horrible cases intentioally if ur mentally not ready.....maybe like allysas mom and wayyyy more. And then, marriages end, love hurts. Just my unrelated ass rambling my shit here tho. Ofc the victim deserve a life especially cuz I can feeeel n see that she'll do better than me or Allyssa actually. We abused kids should die... Not the protected babies who HAVE chances to stand on equal grounds in society. Me and Allyssa and the other sick bitches, who already los. We should die and I would die for a happy child to be alive. ironically life doesn't play nicely. Dont get me wrong tho, I don't support killing lol ofc. And unlike Alyssa or whatever her name is I wanna die rather than kill? Idk. but I do completely feel for the abandoned shit and abused. Maybe she kill her out of jealousy? When the victim was having family dinners we abused kids were in our rooms alone looking, cutting, licking at our cuts. I wanna die so much. Why couldn't Allyssa die why did she take another life..how is that gonna help her broken head.some abused kids success some kill, Difference is who we kill. I'd pick me obviously cuz I'm the problem and I feel all the pain not others...wtf
The writing was literally on the wall. Alyssa’s grandparents had a responsibility to keep the other kids safe by taking her words and threats seriously. Instead they chose to believe that she was bluffing and it cost an innocent girl her life. She should have not been in the home.
Yes I am honestly a little confused on why the grandparents, who were the “responsible” adults taking care of the kids, did not “notice” all the literal writing on the walls??
Its easy to look back and make the comment of "how did you not see this?" but lets be honest, she was disturbed, fundamentally damaged by her years with her mother before the grandparents obtained custody. Working through that and getting those issues addressed takes years and YEARS of work. And since she was on meds she was likely also in treatment of some sort, so to say the grandparents failed is inaccurate. I think they knew she was disturbed and were trying to get her help, but the help wasn't sufficient to have prevented the murder.
now please do not think this is defending a murderer, I am not. what I am saying is that when dealing with a family member who has psychological issues there are some mitigations that should be applied. when a child sees a therapist often times the day of their appointment they are going to be extra clingy, or have outbursts things like that... and you are told as a caregiver this is normal. perhaps they had spoken to the therapist about what they were seeing and were told those types of things were common during treatment especially as they dug into some of her issues. Due to HIPPA laws that sort of information would not be shared, even at a trial, so the assumption the grandparents did nothing does not take the whole situation into account.
@@DomesticBliss-ish Yes, i agree. Maybe they even thought she was already under too much pressure to justify going openly on a full war with her about her bedroom walls. Most of us would probably do the same and go step by step and chose carefully what battles to pick up in order to truly help her. Also, I remember my teens, my mum hardly got inside my bedroom long enough to actually notice which posters where on my walls, it was my bedroom and she allowed me that privacy. Alyssa was older than her siblings, maybe her bedroom was her " sacred ground". We don't know anything about their family dynamics.
Exactly! When Stephanie was describing Alyssa's life and all the things Karen noticed were wrong with Alyssa I was like... so you put her in therapy right? When she was acting like a 4 year old? When she had clear abandonment issues and was sobbing under the blanket? When she starting harming herself? Or drawing things on her wall with blood? No, still no therapy? ok lads....
@@demongrubbs Apparently there’s a book about it and it says that she did get therapy but also that she mentioned her thoughts about killing someone to her grandparents.
I think that when parents abuse their children and the children turn out to be violent criminals, the parents should be charged too.
Same. Even if she is a diagnosed anti-social, that early childhood trauma clearly impacted her in such a horrific way.
@@NotesNNotes she was diagnosed with severe PTSD before the murder- and wasn't she given a strong SSRI, prozac was it? How the hell is prozac supposed to help a child writing death threats on the wall and mutilating her own body? I've hear alot of people say prozac made them feel nothing and rage at the same time. My mom was particularly violent when she was on it. I just can't fathom why anyone, let along trained mental health professionals would think that would make her better. An absolute tragedy all around. We can prevent shit like this. But we are a reactive society, it's easier than being proactive I suppose. Absolutely heartbreaking.
I feel like this girl was failed and slipped through the cracks. She even drew violent things on her walls and no one did anything. I think her grandmother probably thought it was a phase, from seeing her reaction to the admission.
It’s just so sad that nothing had been done to help this girl to prevent this. I feel so sad for everyone involved.
I thought that poor grandmother was going to have a heart attack. You could just see her heart break after all she tried to do for her grandkids.
No. I don't agree. Sorry...
The fact that she has FAN CLUBS alllllmost disturbs me more than her actually committing the crime. It doesn't excuse her horrific crimes, but she had a lot of trauma that doesn't seem to have been handled well. Again, not an excuse, but her own past and her own actions are just that - hers. These STANS have NOTHING better to do than idolize others who carry out horrific acts. It's freaking weird. It's worrisome how well she was able to hide behind her bright, happy facade. RIP Elizabeth. Such a beautiful light snuffed out too soon for absolutely no reason. Ugh.
Considering the Columbine shooters have fan girls... Yeah, no. I'm not surprised.
People disgust me
Just saw it now when I was trying to find her old RUclips videos. There was a tribute video to her that sent chills down my spine. Yes this girl had a horrific upbringing and yes it looks like she had mental issues that might have been needed more care than what they gave her.... But she still murdered and she planned that and I feel like someone incompetent couldn't do all that planning
The fact there are so many people that admire a child murderer frightens me more than the actual murderer- if they are her fans, are they capable of doing the same? Do they want to do the same? They’re the ones not behind bars…
Ugh bunch of little edge lords just like her
Thanks for all your hard work! It does not go unnoticed.
YES!!! I echo that sentiment 💕
Thank you so much!!! ❤️❤️❤️
just want to clarify that personality disorders (including aspd, which is commonly referred to as psychopathy) ARE mental illnesses, classified in the DSM 5, and are treatable. what Alyssa did was not excusable, and I do think she belongs in prison, however it is important not to blame that on a personality disorder. the majority of people with personality disorders (again, including aspd) are not a danger to others. horrible people and violent criminals with personality disorders do, of course, exist, as do horrible people and violent criminals without personality disorders. important to be aware of language around this subject, particularly with large platforms. anyway, if you are reading this with a personality disorder here is another reminder that they are illnesses, they can be treated, people can become fully recovered, and that it doesn't make you a bad person.
Psychopathy is a mental DISORDER, not a mental illness. A disorder can't be changed, it's part of the personality. A mental illness can generally be treated (as I understand from my quick search). Just thought i'd point it out, since you threw me with "it's a mental illness". XD
@@Juhani139 personality disorders are illnesses and can be treated :) often the focus is harm reduction and management of symptoms as opposed to a 'cure', as is the case with many other chronic mental illnesses (eg. schizophrenia)
Yeah, I wasn't happy with the way Stephanie phrased that... Personality disorders are complex and at times difficult to navigate, but they are mental illnesses. And most people with them are regular everyday people living regular everyday lives.
I enjoy Stephanie's content, but this isn't the first time her language around mental illnesses has been less than good.
Hi! Psychology and Criminology grad here :) They are not mental illnesses, they are extreme disorders of ‘normal' personality traits. The main difference is that mental illnesses are generally genetic, whereas personality disorders are generally the result of environmental factors. Of course, it’s not that black and white, but that’s the general rule. People can 100% live normal and respectable lives after being diagnosed with ASPD, but violent offenders with ASPD are almost completely untreatable due to the very nature of their disorder in that they don’t have the self-awareness nor motivation to acknowledge their behaviour should change. It’s one of those things where not all people with ASPD are thrill murderers, but the majority of thrill murderers likely have ASPD. This subset that Alyssa (vert likely) belongs to have very little hope in rehabilitation. Had she not been let down by her family and the system, she very may well have grown up to be a functioning member of society. However by this point, it’s my opinion that her personality and morals were set solidly in place and she was too far gone.
THANK YOU! I came here to say this ❤
Wasn’t there two graves? And Emma’s name on her wall w a drawing beside it? I believe if she had been given more time Emma would’ve been next
Iv heard they had thought it may be for her brothers but then she got the chance with Elizabeth, but we may never know. Maybe the second grave details were in the redacted statements 🤷🏻♀️
Excellent point!
That always stuck out in my mind as well. Plus how did they miss 2 graves when they were searching for her?
@@crystalwilson3466 they found one of them with nothing in it remember?
*weren't
The digging of the graves ahead of time is unforgivable. That is the most chilling detail for me.
My thing is tho... why were there two graves?
Child cases bothered me before, but after becoming a mom, it's a whole new level. If someone brutally murdered one of my kids, I think I'd die too. I couldn't imagine what these parents go through. I'm 3 wks postpartum, and my heart just aches for them. Newborn life has been hard, but I love being a mom. Alyssa's parents failed her... but absolutely no excuse for what she did....
I had to stop watching crime shows like CSI after I became a mom. I couldn’t stop thinking of the victims as someone’s child.
I agree with my and I'm the same way about kids. I'm a Grandmother now and you think it's safe once your kids are grown and then they have kids and then there are layers. A drunk driver sideswiped my daughter in-law and grandson the other day. They're okay but my heart almost cracked in half. I could easily become a Great-Grandma in a decade and a half and God forbid if I live to be 90 a Great-Great-Grandma. I will have a full clipboard of people to have anxiety about 24/7.
@@Andreamom001 The exact same thing with me. The things I used to watch before being a mom became something I cannot even fathom watching now. It hits too close to home when kids are involved.
Girl so agree with you!!!! Being a mom and seeing things like this makes me feel more anxious
@@angelinaboyle423 Same!
Wow I can kinda relate to a lot of what Alyssa went through as far as feeling abandoned by her parents and not trusting adults. I was in and out of foster up until I was 18. I still suffer from so many issues from my childhood and I’m 26 now. There are no excuses for her actions but damn they failed her from the start. We have to do better as parents. I’m not a single mom to a beautiful 1 year old baby girl and I think I have made more progress mentally in this one year than I have my whole life. My baby girl saved me, I will do any and everything to make sure she has a healthy loving fun childhood. I hope to raise her to be an amazing human being.
You're so right. This case was very, very far from coming out of the blue, this girl was a walking-talking red flag. Someone growing up with this much trauma, being the child of people who are themselves children and don't want her will always have the potential of producing such broken humans that, already at 15, they'll be capable of this level of violence (but not of stopping themselves). Everything failed here and while society needs to be protected from Alyssa, cases like this have to be prevented. Because once the trauma cycle starts, there is no telling where it ends.
Good for you. With your take on this, you won't go wrong
Becoming a mother unravels a lot of trauma. Being aware of your own trauma and working to heal yourself is already an amazing gift for you and your daughter. Break the generational trauma cycle. I believe in you! ❤️
The fact that you’re looking at yourself and willing to work on stuff so your daughter has a good mother says a lot. I’m sure your daughter will be able to look up to you in the future. Blessings to you and your family! 💖
I'm not a mom yet but I feel this so hard 🥺 I wanna give my babies a childhood they don't have to recover from. Sounds like you're an amazing mama!!
I was diagnosed with borderline at 14. The thought of killing anyone besides myself never crossed my mind and it disgusts me that they tried to use that as an excuse in some way
Here is something to consider when thinking about what Alyssa’s grandparents should have done when they recognized that whatever medications and therapy the girl received were not helping. Families who have a seriously mentally ill child often realize the child should most likely be placed in care but are racked with guilt. In today’s world, there are no safe havens for the seriously mentally ill. Abuse is rampant in institutions. Parents are between a rock and a hard place.
100% :(
Ehhhhhh, more like they wanted to ignore the problem
I think they didn't want to make her feel even more abandoned by having her institutionalized for her mental problems. They were trying to do right by her without causing more harm. I'm sure if they had it to do over they'd make different decisions.
I angry, in my country they closed many of these facilities and the private facilities are only for those with insurance. They send the patients back into society expecting the community to take care of them. It's totally insane, this girl should not have been in society.
In today's world the institutions for the mentally ill are far FAR better than they ever were in yesterday's world that's for damn sure. Read Nelly Bly's book.
The way you talked about Elizabeth was so beautiful. Little princess she truly was. Thank you for being you and sharing your light with us.
It really bugs me when they try to claim they aren't guilty by virtue of mental disorder when they have a personality disorder like borderline. As someone who struggles with severe and debilitating BPD, I'm actually more likely to hurt myself than anyone else. In Australia, personality disorders actually aren't even able to be used as a defence for mental disease or defect.
Same! BPD may make me angry but the anger always directs it’s way back to myself so it always comes down to me being the most angry with myself. I can never actually blame anyone but myself…for everything.
Yes, mental illness doesn’t make people kill other people. Even when you have BPD you know what is wrong and right. It’s really frustrating.
As someone who also has BPD, I'm the same. I don't like hurting people (Unless I have consent). I take my anger out on myself. The most you'll probably get out of me if you push me enough is yelling. Never once have I sat there and thought the best solution to my problem is to harm others. People need to realise mental illness is not a free pass to do bad things- It can explain why the thing was done, but it can never excuse what has been done.
It's people like that who give people with BPD such a bad name. I get it, there's some assholes with BPD out there, but it sucks that the loud minority is making the quiet majority look so so bad and evil
Sadly, in America, mental illness is but a side note in our shotty healthcare system. Many people don't even go in for regular physical evaluations, the dialogue isn't there for mental discussion. Most docs don't consider how mental illness plays into it so you are on your own self medicating till you get some indication that there may be more to it that needs attention. It's more typical that it's not recognized by many dealing with it till someone close to them is themselves diagnosed or someone close cares enough to get them some help.
I'm not making excuses for this troubled girl, but I am noting that this happened in a country that doesn't recognize a cry for help for what it is. Getting help for it is a whole other issue that isn't as easy as it sounds even when you are on the better end of the economic scale. That's so sad and we need to do better as so many people suffer from various forms of mental illness. Not only should we be more aware of when people need that help but making it easier to get that help as needed, regardless of economics.
I'd also like to note that comparing what Alyssa went through with what the rest of her siblings went through as a case for her own sanity isn't right or fair (1:02:15). We are all built differently. Judging what someone should and shouldn't be able to handle is a big part of what's wrong with society today. This young woman not only had untreated mental issues that were specified in depth in her trial. She also had a terrible upbringing that moved her to a Grandmother's care that clearly didn't get that her Granddaughter needed serious professional help and not space. The red flags were everywhere, openly.
I have always thought she was at the beginning of a serial killer career. If she weren’t imprisoned she may have moved on to more murder. The entire thing is just sad.
I don’t know why we don’t have laws that punish disgusting “mothers” like her own.
Her mom broke her down, and the therapy afterwards wasn’t effective and soon enough to put her back together. It’s her mother’s crime too
100%. She got a high from it that she will never get from anything else. She would have absolutely killed again.
I agree she was exposed to too much for too long at a very early age. Her mother should be held responsible for that. I also feel that when a child is exposed like that our systems should take care…monitor and intervene. Drugs are not the answer. Masking the problem does nothing but make her seem compliant. We are broken as a society when it comes to taking care of all our children. 😕
We need to do better as a society to protect kids. We also need to make sure that kids have enough trusted adults around them that when/if their friends start saying weird stuff they can confide comfortably…without fear of being seen as a snitch. My kids would have told me if one of their friends were wondering what it felt like to kill…shoot their friends would have told me too. It’s all so sad and avoidable.
She dug two graves, maybe she had more immediate plans before the search started and got so big.
I went to school with Alyssa and knew Elizabeth from the southwest elementary bus stop. I was a senior and Alyssa a freshman or sophomore (been a few years so I forget what she was) and when I tell you how much this fucked up Cole County… St. Martin’s is not the type of area you expect murders to happen. I’ve been playing in that area since I could walk, my grandparents having a house in the area. It’s just your small town outside of a small city vibe place. To see Lomo Dr completely cut off was insane.
The kids that lived on Lomo couldn’t be dropped off at their houses, parents had to come to the end of the road to get their kids. Thing is, Alyssa and one other kid were the only ones who lived on that road at the time that rode my bus. Alyssa wasn’t riding for any of the days we dropped the kid off.
The last time I saw her before she was arrested was on the same day she was arrested and being escorted from JCHS by her very stoic grandfather. Alyssa herself was completely blank faced and dead eyed. As I had known her as a bus acquaintance, I waved and made a comment along the lines of “oh what did you do, you get in trouble?” in a teasing way… And that dead eyed look is the last image I have of her being free.
It’s crazy what you don’t know about someone you think you at least know the basics of.
I do not think you were too hard on her. This wasn’t something that just got out of hand , it was premeditated. So horrifying. RIP Elizabeth. I can’t imagine the pain her family has and is going through.
Love you Stephanie!🖤🖤🖤
My zebra hat “Ted” loves you too !!!
Happy Harloween Y’all 🖤☠️
9 year old having a cell phone in 2009 seems normal to me. As said by Stephanie parents would want to be able to contact their kids. Am I missing something?
It sounds quite normal to me for that time, it’s not like it was the 90s when cellphones were more rare, you want your kid to be easy to contact if it’s out playing with friends
I personally think 9 is young. We got my oldest a phone when she was 12 because she started to get more independence. She was the last kid in her friend group to get a phone though. I guess I'm just the mean mom. 🤷♀️😂
Yes! In that time phones where just phones at that time. I had a flip phone at 7 during summer school just to call my mom and grandpa for any reason. There’s was no internet or even texting on it.
I was 19 in 2009 and only got a cell phone a year before!
@@cassie1264 Not mean, just living a different life than those who feel the need to let their kids to have a cellphone when they are younger.
I hate when defenses try to use "Oh they are depressed and on medication so this is what led them"/ Like' how many of us are on medication and also deal with shit and we are not going on wanting to murder people
Exactly because before she was on medication she had twisted sh*t going on.
Agreed im depressed and on meds and guess wat i havent killed anyone
I was prescribed 40 mg prozac when I was 16, never had homicidal tendencies💀It's like the last medicine to make you act that way too, it was so weird to hear that they tried that.
I'm depressed and on meds and I don't even spank my 4 kids. How the heck is depression an excuse to cause harm to another person?
Many kids go through way worse shit that this bitch and we haven't killed ANYONE - EVER!
I am 50 now, had I killed my mother and her boyfriend I would have been justified in my actions - BUT INSTEAD I RAN AWAY!
The courts made me a ward of the courts, a child in need of protection- both legal titles - then threw me in segregation, naked for 6 MONTHS ! I never broke the law - if anyone had a reason to loose their shit as a child -- I feel I qualify yet I never hurt anyone.
I love the sound of your voice, the way you thoroughly cover your cases and even the sponsors that you use. I have checked out a lot of other true crime channels. None of them can compare to this one. You do a great job.
This girl should NEVER be free again. Her life is DONE. DO BETTER NEXT TIME AROUND. ☠️
Excuse me ! What if you were in her shoes ?
@@abbyarnold4477 most people wouldn't be, they're not psychopaths. This girl is a danger do society. She's better locked up and throw away the key.
Maybe she should've thought about that when she slit that 6yr old baby's throat. She should rot. I don't care if she's 15 she's only going to get more violent.
@@TheMirrorRoom *9 year old
100% agree tho. Never let that psycho out. She fucked up her own life (and everyone else around her.) She PLANNED the murder. She knew what she was doing.
I watch a lot of crime content generally but you truly are my favourite on youtube. You're always so informative and I just love how passionate you are, I can tell you genuinely care about the victims and their families. It's wonderful!
Here here! I'll never understand those that say her videos are too long! I'd listen to her all day if I could.
I'm only part way through and I feel super awkward because I literally have a scar on my arm that's like maybe 18 years old now that says hate, I have other words but that's the only one we have in common. I was also put on fluoxetine (the generic name for prozac, more widely used in the UK) at the exact same age. I was also edgy af and drew fucked up things, wrote fucked up poems, had addiction issues, hospitalisations from overdoses... etc etc etc. Uhhh anyway, I'm just sitting here right now under a comfy blanket, knitting a hat that is 100% going to turn out too large, and chatting with friends online who are sending me cat pictures. I mean my childhood wasn't as bad (but it certainly wasn't great, obviously otherwise I wouldn't have been doing this shit so young) so maybe that's a factor in how our paths diverged, but it's so weird to see someone with so many similar key adolescent experiences but it turned out like this. So maybe even though I feel like my life is a shambles, I'm not actually doing too bad considering.
Nurture is a big deal, but so is nature. Everyone is different. We don't all have the same brain chemistry even if we share lots of things in common. Some people are born sick, I'm not passing judgement, it's a real medical aspect. It still doesn't excuse anything but it helps explain. Proud of you for persevering, btw.
same here. had that shit for a while and now i’m doing actually really well. i didn’t have her past, didn’t have a great past, but certainly didn’t have hers. my therapist often says to me “i’m just trying to keep you alive so that you can see the beauty in life” and i feel as though alyssa should have been kept away from others if she was exhibiting signs of homicidal intent with a plan (although i’m not sure if her grandparents knew she was homicidal or not, i haven’t gotten that far). it’s harsh, but sometimes you just need to let people wait it out. and if she never grew out of that, even with medical and psychological treatment, then maybe she shouldn’t be out at all. just a thought tho.
I wish you all the best. The hat woll be awesome😁!
@@AllTheCloudsArePink Thank you for recognizing that. So many go with that outward gut feeling of anger toward the perpetrator of this kind of broken soul, understandably. Their actions were inexcusable, no doubt. But the reality is that medical aspect. Disregarding that is part of the stigma of mental health that our society needs to get past to make treatment more actionable for everyone.
not "literally"
I would be curious to know what experts say about the portion of society which is enamored by such abhorrent, vile, despicable behavior to the point where they create fan clubs and support such monsters. Your in depth work and ease of telling it is greatly appreciated Stephanie!
They are disturbed but lack the constitution of will and fortitude to commit such crimes themselves, they live vicariously through her violent actions. They are not likely to be psychopaths because the thing keeping them from acting out these fantasy's is fear of consequences. As it should. it's distasteful but it could be worse.
The most horrible murderers get the most fan mail and sometimes get married to fans. I live in Denmark, where the two most infamous - Peter Lundin who killed his mother, his girlfriend & her two small children, and u-boat killer Peter Madsen who killed a journalist and cut her body up then dumped it in the sea - are both very popular with women. Both have gotten married in prison to women who were fans.
They say theyr're dumbasses lol
@@arenzefischer8090 After looking those up I kind of want to hear Stephanie talk about the Peter Lundin case, that sounds ... horribly fascinating.
@@xLiLlyx98 me too!!!
No one tells these tragic true crime stories better than Steph. I love how opinionated she is and how she’s not afraid to show her personality and tell us how she really feels. Soooo many other channels are just a basic monotoned retelling of the story with no emotion or personal opinion. She makes it feel like I’m hanging with my best girl listening to her spew a story she’s waited weeks to tell me. Keep it up Stephanie, #1 True crime queen!!
I hope Alyssa’s parents are proud of the stellar parents they were. This is horrifying.
I feel like Alyssa choice Elizabeth not just because she wouldn’t be able to defend herself but because her life and her personality represented everything Alyssa herself wasn’t.
I have parents like hers, they don’t care. I bet if you asked her mom, her POS mom would say “I did the best I could, there’s no manuals for raising a child”
Actually, I agree with you 💯
@@McSnezzly Nailed it.
I absolutely agree.
Did her grandparents ever go into her room? I can't imagine what my mom would have said if I had crap like that on my walls when I was 15. That was the first sign that something was wrong and it was completely over looked. To me it sounds like the grandparents did the bare minimum. The kids were left with their mother for far too long and when they finally got into a more "stable" home, things were going unnoticed. Maybe if they had been a little more active in her life and kept a better eye on her this wouldn't have happened.
I thought about that, as well. They were negligent in either situation. If they never went in there, and let her just do anything she wanted, that's negligence. If they saw all that and did nothing, again, negligence. It should have been prevented.
My exact thoughts!
To be fair, my daughter is an artist and some of her art would be considered disturbing. She isn’t a psychotic, homicidal maniac…just a creator of edgy art.
@@gwenjackson8583 there’s a difference between edgy art and drawing a picture on your wall with slashes all over and labeling it as your sister 😬
@@BobbiAnneWilson But honestly, where do you draw the line? No pun intended.
When art should be considered as a symptom of something dangerous or just accepted as self expression? I’m truly asking. As a creator of edgy art on my teen years, I can understand both perspectives and I think nowadays it’s even more complicated.
Alyssa definitely showed signs of needing treatment. I think we sometimes just hope that if we avoid issues long enough they will just go away. Cases like this teach us that avoidance can be tragic.
She was in treatment though, multiple counselors, psychiatric meds, and an outpatient program. We want to believe treatment can help everyone, but that is unfortunately not the case.
At 15, I see her believing that she would go to a facility for minors for a while and then go home. Let’s be real, that’s how 15 year olds think. Even sitting in adult jail, she probably thought she would be home by 18 or 21. Because she’s a minor. And minors just don’t have the ability to think like an adult. That being said, I think she needs to be locked up for a very long time. She knew what she was doing and what the outcome would be (someone ending up dead).
There’s things that you left out too. Such as her telling her therapist and grandparents that she was having homicidal tendencies for awhile before this happened and them just thinking she was lying because she didn’t want to take her meds.
If that's true I feel like her grandma is responsible for letting her run around unsupervised
@@sadiesue8069 it’s definitely true. I followed this case thoroughly when it went on and have watched everything I could on it. One of the things was the interview with her family. That was one of the things that they talked about and showed her therapists notes and all that. There’s also this girl on Tiktok that was in prison with her for 4 years and she talks a lot about what she was like and all the paperwork from court, lawyers, police, that she read firsthand. She had her call and she recorded it and made videos of her basically interviewing her. She also talked about what she was like now and her thought process behind the murder. It’s very interesting.
@@sadiesue8069 and I agree that she shouldn’t have been allowed to be by herself with anyone let alone a child.
Link your sources
@@StephanieHarlowe the book written about it. It’s on Amazon
"Can we give a round of applause to Elizabeth's grandmother,in her wheelchair....still bein a bad bitch!" Right,lol?! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 That's 1 of the many reasons I admire & adore this woman so much.Ty for simply bein u,Steph! LYSM!!!💕💚💕
1:00:50-1:02:00 kinda hurt ngl, i have an personality disorder and i promise that we’re not all that bad. please don’t stigmatize us
Thoughts while listening:
Oh dear God don't tell me this 6 year old is the killer. Oh thank goodness, she's not. Oh wait, this isn't much better...
If the grandma didn't want the girl questioned any further she should have stayed in the room and said, "No more without a lawyer." She was too squeamish to handle what she was hearing and left, so she doesn't get to be upset they continued.
I've been physically/mentally/emotionally abused during childhood and was officially diagnosed with severe clinical depression/generalized anxiety and given medication over 20 years ago now... still never killed anybody.
@ the last paragraph: same here. i think trauma and other environmental factors can make young minds mature and understand things about life very early. i just can’t imagine her being tried in court as a child in this specific case.
@@mack5651 while it might’ve not been appropriate to try her as a tween or something, alyssa was a teen (brain not yet fully developed) and one that spent her formative childhood (her development is cut much shorter than typical teenagers raised in favorable conditions) in neglect and apathy from her very own mother :/ there are tons of vids on yt of infants and how trauma/indifference from guardians affect and upset them (imagine having to go thru that for years til your grandparents step in ..). this doesn’t excuse what she did but they do paint a picture seeing how this is such a common experience among other young offenders .. there should be some sort of separate trials for ppl like this (adults and minors) :( it’s slightly disheartening to see ppl dealt w a short stick in life just be locked away when they do something this terrible > receiving therapy along side doing their time but on the other hand, i’m not sure how much of the damage can be reversed since it does have such an impact on their mental and emotional development ..
Alyssa's grandparents failed her as well. They didn't notice the 300 cuts on her body? They didn't notice the writing on her bedroom walls? Nor the subject matter of the writing? And let's please remember that it took these grandparents at least a year to realise their daughter was a junkie who could only think of her next score.
Who knows what Alyssa saw or was subjected to during that time while grandparents were waiting for their daughter to sober up and take care of her children.
I know that possibly they would have left any diary alone, out of respect for her privacy, but the self-harm and writing on the walls should have sent off Chernobyl style alarms for anyone else.
Poor Elizabeth, her mother and siblings and Emma are the only victims in this.
What Karen did after regarding Alyssa is pointless when she was blithely ignoring warning signs, possibly like she and her husband did with their daughter Michelle, too.
My grand parents knew who my mother was. A junkie a paedophile enabler, someone who sold her daughter from birth to fill her covetous needs - and a monster.
Instead of helping me, they turned their backs on me, more afraid of being blamed for raising the mother I had. Their own shame made it easy to throw me away...my running away made it easier to forget.
I belive the grandparents KNEW exactly who their daughter was
@@c.a.greene8395
I am so sorry for what you had to go through and that no one who could and should have helped you, did.
I hope you are doing wonderfully and are happy in spite of your start in life.
Much love to you C.A. 💗
Love and strength and healing for you 🤗
@@jennifershelley6938 thank you, I zm now 50.
I have gone home once with my two sons to show my mother - I never let her touch or hold them and she didn't ask.
We haven't spoken in 27 years and I am at peace with me.
I long ago gave the hurt, pain and shame back to those it belongs to, it was never mine to own or carry. I forgave the child who was unable to fend off the advances of adult men.
I have raised a family, had a wonderful life and with luck I will have the privilege to grow old, not everyone gets to do it.
Live in love and not fear.
God bless
I don't give a god damn f*** about Alyssa
@@jaifoenander6644
Nor do I really, but because her parents and grandparents didn't 'give a god damn' about her either, Elizabeth is dead.
I’ve been following this case since it broke news. I was a LOT like Alyssa as a teenager, down to being put on Prozac (which made me feel nuts, it muted all empathy, it wasn’t for me, I don’t even have depression) and, ya know, I didn’t kill anyone. No amount of emo music, eyeliner, and trauma with Prozac makes one a killer. I had more empathy for her when the case broke than I do now.
I've heard an interesting theory that sometimes antidepressants & antianxiety medication doesn't actually cause brand new bad symptoms but rather reduces the symptoms that were preventing the person from acting on them sooner.
For example somone with anxiety may worry about getting caught stealing, overthinking & being frozen by fear. Then once the anxiety is reduce they feel more normal so are able to steal, acting on a pre-existing want.
Unfortunately that also includes depressed people who had such low motivation & energy, who when those symptoms improve they attempt suicide, again acting on a pre-existing want, just able to do it with reduced symtoms.
@@NotAnotherKuromi That's not the meds, that's just how depression works. The most dangerous time is when you get your motivation back but the depression hasn't lifted. But it ain't because of the meds, and I'm tired of people blaming _life-saving medication_ for bad acts.
I have been on meds that definitely caused symptoms that aren’t part of my normal personality. But to be clear, I didn’t have “chemical depression” I was a teenager who’s mother just died and they put me on a BIG dose. Antipsychotics can also cause some issues that weren’t otherwise there. I do think it kind of depends though
I’m very pro-medication but I’m also very pro-proper-diagnosis especially for very young people. I didn’t need Prozac, I needed plain ole panic/insomnia meds. Still take them and am happy
Shawna Burt a lot of men's can have some trellis bad side effects.
I love the skeleton in the back. He’s like “Oh hai girl!!”
I am certain he is flicking on and off in Morse code “allegedly . . . supposedly . . . don’t come for me”.💀 ☠️
@@intentionallyleftblank3016 she’s talking about the skeleton not the skull 🤣
Elizabeth and I were born the same year. She would have been 22 this year. It makes me so sad to think of what an amazing person she could have grown up to be. Her poor family. RIP Elizabeth. :(
I fully agree with Alyssa being in prison for life, but I was a little uncomfortable with the remarks about psychopathy as someone who works in mental health. Not every psychopath becomes a killer and personality disorders are still considered mental health related. I do think people like Alyssa are too far gone to forgive whether she is ‘rehabilitated’ or not.
agreed
yeah, as someone with bpd it makes me feel gross. I understand the extreme distaste to killers and their actions, but attacking their personality disorder that they can’t control is going a bit too far. target them for the decisions that they made of their own accord.
As another mental health professional, I agree 100%.
Agree. Stephanie's generalization of the disorder took me back. It's one thing to say this person to need to be locked up, but every psychopath?! Damaging take on this disorder. Sad that this stereotype is still alive and well.
I agree. What Alyssa did is inexcusable, but to say every psychopath needs to be locked up is just worsening the stigma.
If she could do this at 15, imagine what she could have done at 30, with her own house, a basement full of tools, free to roam the world, and a modicum of intelligence?
It doesn't bare thinking about 🥺😱
Horrifying. Good point.
it's terrible she killed anyone, especially a child. But at least she wasn't smart enough yet to cover her tracks
I have been waiting for Harloween since last year! I have been battling stage 2 triple negative breast cancer since Nov 2020 and during my hard days dealing with hard core chemo and severe nausea and weakness I have been grateful to have Stephanie’s channel to listen to and keep my mind distracted. I am so grateful this year has went by fast for me and I am so happy to say I am in remission and getting ready to have my last surgery for my breast reconstruction and even when I am down for a bit to heal from that surgery I’ll have sweet Stephanie to keep me company and keep my mind occupied once again. Happy Harloween Stephanie and my friends🍂🎃🍁 Sending love from Kentucky 💙
Good luck Amanda my mother had a type of breast cancer and had part of her breast removed. She's 66 now. You'll be ok just keep your faith
Well I am glad you are letting everyone know your medical problems.
@@davebunnell1105 not sure how to take this comment…..are you being nice saying your glad I’m telling everyone about my health issues or being sarcastic about it?
@@agds91078 Sarcastic. Sorry. JMO. I have my own medical issues, as do most. I do not like to read someone who feels compelled to tell their body's history to complete strangers. It's attention seeking most of the time. Every story about Trauma, Depression, ect, someone chimes in on their issues. Yes we get it.
@@davebunnell1105 well sorry you don’t feel comfortable enough to talk to others about yours, I for one hope I can talk about mine and help someone else….when I was newly diagnosed with TNBC I was terrified not knowing what to expect and I had found many women in here talking about what they went through and for me it helped ease my mind so much of the not knowing but we all have our thoughts and beliefs and I like to help others if I can in any way because it was total strangers videos here on RUclips that helped me more than they will ever know:
I'm so excited you're covering this. Alyssa Bustamante disturbs me so much, and every time I hear sweet Elizabeth's name I just feel sick and sad. I know this is going to be the most accurate and informational video about this case. RIP Elizabeth Olten. 💙
Hearing about her funeral made me tear up a little bit. Usually cases don't make me cry but she seemed like such a sweet happy girl w so much potential in life
I have a pretty boring job: just mindless tasks in large quantities, so I always listen to Stephanie while I work (fortunately I work from home, heh). It might sound strange but it actually helpse concentrate and also endure these mindless tasks. Her voice is soothing, her narrative style is very easy to follow and she just gives off these beautiful good vibes, despite the dark topics she talks about. She is funny, she is empathetic and she is kind. And from what I have seen, she has a beautiful family, and it melts my heart whenever she invites her husband to participate in her videos.
Her channel is like a safe haven to me, and whenever I check out her new videos, it's like reuniting with a friend.
I appreciate this video for a different reason. Thank you for reminding me the victim has a freaking name. I clicked on the video super interested in a case I'd never heard of. Then I hear the Killer's name and all of a sudden I realize that I know this case like the back of my hand, I just didn't recognize the victim's name. Thank you for bringing back the focus where it belongs. This is Elizabeth's story.
I was 11 when this happened, and playing in the woods behind my mom’s apartment when she came home on the day Elizabeth went missing. Boy did I get an earful when my mom came home and didn’t find me in the apartment!
St Martin’s is an outlier town to Jefferson City, Missouri where I’m from. We weren’t allowed to play outside after school with neighborhood kids until they had Alyssa in prison. It was scary to feel like we weren’t safe until she was behind bars.
Alyssa deserves to be in prison, she took the life of a child while still being a child herself. Imagine what she could've done if she had gotten away with this, or didn't kill until she was older..This case has always disturbed me. I was on Prozac, I self harmed, I OD'D, I was hospitalized, emo as heck, angry, been through trauma, similar to Alyssa. But I never acted out like she did, Prozac made me more violent towards myself but for what Alyssa did there's no excuse. My empathy stopped for her when she lured Elizabeth to the woods to her own grave.
I remember when this crime first happened. Alyssa is insane. She killed her little sister's friend Elizabeth because she wanted to see what it felt like to kill someone. The true crime show Deadly Women also did a reanactment on it. If Alyssa was set free she would definitely kill again. Elizabeth Olten would of been 21 years old by now.
Personally, I believe that Alyssa should be jailed for as long as her sentence was given. There is a difference between a teenager getting a life term over drug offenses or even more violent crimes due to being influenced by gangs or peer pressure than Alyssa's case. She was not acting under direction from an authority figure. She did not do it to bring in money. She had a loving family in her grandparents to where she didn't have to seek love and acceptance. She knew exactly what she was doing when she murdered Elizabeth with her own hands.
PS sorry if that doesn't make sense. I am running on empty lol
Exactly!
I absolutely agree!! And there’s evidence to prove she solely did this on her own
It totally makes sense. 🤘
I wouldn't say loving family. They were aware of her issues and didn't help her. But yeah, she deserves her sentence. She'd kill again if she was released.
@@elinalukaziak693 okay I could possibly see that, but she was taken to the doctor to try and figure out what was wrong with her and given medication. However, neither of us were there to witness when she was actually taken (before or after suicide attempt) or how her home life was. I do see, however, that they removed the kids from the toxic situation their mother left them in.
While it's sad that a 15-year-old girl was tried as an adult and had to go to adult prison, she made adult choices and took the life of Elizabeth, an innocent 9 year-old-girl, who trusted her. I can't imagine the grief and pain that Elizabeth's family is experiencing. Sending so much love to them!
Discussions like these, on killers' right or not to redemption, always makes me think of Carla Homolka and how she's been allowed to walk free, marry and have kids. It honestly chills my blood.
Yeah, it's pretty fucked up. She helped kill her sister while trying to subdue her so her boyfriend could rape her. She seems normal now, i guess you could argue Folie a deux.
@@IudiciumInfernalum she seemed normal enough before, to enough people and so did that man smh
Had an incredibly hard morning dealing with my daughters anxiety...this is just what i needed! Thank you🖤💜🖤
Oh mama. Mine too. 🖤 Not alone. ✨💫
No hood like parenthood!
Praying for y'all! My 9 year old has bad anxiety and it's so hard to see your baby struggle
Thankful for compassionate mamas like you. ❤🧡 probably wouldn't be here if it wasn't for my mom being proactive with my anxiety.
@@bloodraven1437 i learned from my mama how NOT to deal with anxiety. Glad my daughter has someone who understands. Hope you're healing 💛
I have bipolar ocd and an anxiety disorder. Which means I get intrusive thoughts of harming myself and others. Mental illness isn't an excuse for disgusting behaviour. There's plenty of people I know that have the same thoughts and feelings as me but we've never acted upon them and never would. Especially what she did to an innocent child. She's a coward and they always pick someone weaker and more vulnerable. She should never get out ever. Love you videos thank you xxxx
Stephanie, I love you, and as someone with a personality disorder, they are definitely mental illnesses. Luckily the flavor I was cursed with is super treatable and actually curable with dialectical behavior therapy. Literally saved my life and just recently my therapist told me I may not longer qualify for the diagnosis as a result of my efforts to get better.
Love the ol’ DBT😉
Maybe I misinterpreted her, but I think Stephanie meant a mental illness that would give any legs to Alyssa being not culpable (ie schizophrenia.) Of course personality disorders are mental disorders, but they don’t eliminate knowing right from wrong. That was just my take on it, though. Congrats on your hard work! Wear that proudly, girl!
I agree, really disliked the mischaracterization of personality disorders.
@@nancymcnafferson3192 she directly said referred to PDs not being mental disorders. It's totally an understandable slip, just wanted to inform her! Thank you so much, that means a lot to me
@@nancymcnafferson3192all hail Marsha Linehan 😂
As someone in the foster care system, then adopted & abandoned by my adoptive parents, who self harmed & attempted suicide in my teen years, i never wanted to harm someone else. She had love & was given treatment, she had chances to get better. The way she behaved at school showed how manipulative she is.
My heart aches thinking of Elizabeth's final moments on this earth. Can you imagine the fear she felt when she realized what was happening. RIP SWEET GIR!! Alyssa is an absolutely monster. She is exactly where she needs to be. Thinking of the families involved 😢 😞 😔
My mum got me a cell phone when I was 8 because my parents were divorced and dad was remarried. But my step mum absolutely hated it when my mum would call my dad even if it was to talk to me while I was at his house. So she got me the cutest most basic purple flip phone and I loved it, I feel like it taught me some responsibility at a young age. Making sure it was charged and learning how to put credit onto it.
I don't understand how parents like that don't end up in jail. How can you horribly abuse and neglect kids and just have no punishment for it?
We have a serious problem throughout the entire world with not treating children as if they matter, at least not as far as law and punishment are concerned.
I agree 100%. I don't know what the answer is but I do know this topic needs attention and fast.
@@TK-ib7rm It's horrific the cases you can read about and just leaves you wondering, "How can you not feed your children and not get charged for something like attempted murder?"
Children should never, ever be in these situations. And people always know about it, it seems like!
exactly .. they def had part in the lack of critical thinking + sadism alyssa developed :| and it’s just sad cuz minors have little to no control options regarding what their environments at home are so her and her siblings had no opportunity to develop appropriately when it was most important or receive parental security/affirmations
@@ash5779 totally agree. The whole situation is a mess and by the looks of her bedroom, her grandparents weren't paying attention to what she was up to. I would lose my mind if I walked into my child's room and it looked the way Alyssa's did. I know her grandparents were trying to give her and her siblings a better life but they failed her as well.
The world only cares about a child when they're in the womb. After that, they don't seem to matter to anyone.
Its not only the fact that you are doing great job with the videos, deep searching and presentation, but also giving your opinion helping people to understand how and why all this sad cases happened. Not only one victim here, but only one murderer.
I don’t think you went too hard on her at all. When you make an adult decision to take the life of a CHILD, you deserve adult consequences. I agree with you that she is a psychopath and would definitely have killed someone again if she wasn’t caught or if she is let out too early. I pray she stays locked up for the majority of her life. Poor Elizabeth will never have a life, it was stolen from her…and from her family. So as grandma so eloquently stated; Alyssa should get out of jail when Elizabeth gets out of the grave. I’d be perfectly okay with that. As always, you’re amazing! Can’t wait to see what else is in store for Harloween! 🧡🖤🎃👻🍍
I’m intrigued by your differentiating adult decisions from childhood decisions. It could be a good way of understanding culpability. But how do we distinguish an adult decision from a child’s decision, if not by the age of the decision-maker? Is every decision that results in someone’s death by definition an adult decision? I’m asking because intuitively I agree on this specific case, but laws only work if they speak to generalities. In general terms, how can we sort out which decisions are intrinsically “adult” regardless of the decision-maker’s age?
@@valerielevasseur8674 I think the answer to your question is by looking at not only the crime itself, but the circumstances surrounding the crime. In this case, it was more than premeditated. She had been planning on doing this for a long time, and used others to manipulate her victim to make it easier for her to carry out her plan. I think the pre-meditation of her decision, along with the fact that CLEARLY she knew it was wrong, based on her age and the feedback she received from others her age when she brought the subject up..shows the difference between a pre-planned, well thought out “adult” decision and a spontaneous, spur of the moment, impulsive “child-like” decision that comes along with children not having control over their impulses at times. I think there’s no “one size fits all” law for crimes like this committed by minors, discretion should be used on a case by case basis based on multiple factors, including the ones that I listed. Also, her attempting to cover up her crime and hide evidence, like trying to cover up her journal entry and having her 6 year old sister lie to police for her..shows an even deeper understanding of her crime and her not wanting to get caught. That, to me, also shows that she had a full, deep understanding of how wrong and depraved her crime was, thus even acting more so as an adult in the decisions she made after the fact. That’s why I believe the law is set up as it is, that for serious crimes such as murder, there’s the option to be charged as an adult even if the offender is in fact, technically not an adult.
@@ashleiighhh825 I buy that. It’s about identifying what part of a crime, if any, could be mitigated by their young age and might be a factor they can reasonably be expected to outgrow. With a teenager, that could be impulsivity, which as you point out is not a factor in this case. I’m a stickler for meaning things when we say words (stickler = geek, but you get paid to teach the thing) and I do like your elegant approach.
@@valerielevasseur8674 Thank you! I love having friendly, respectful, intelligent discussions with people regarding these cases. I saw from one of your other comments that you’re a college professor, what do you teach may I ask? I’m assuming English of some kind, but you know what they say about assuming things. 🤣
@@ashleiighhh825 Political Science, actually, but it feels like English a lot of the time. Because we’re always dealing with nebulous and contentious concepts like power, freedom, culture, nationhood etc, the main task is to define the concept *for the present purpose*, then tease out core dimensions and observable indicators. My students presumably get sick of hearing me ask, “how do we know it if we meet it on the street?” It usually takes a bit of training, but you did it naturally :)
I love how Stephanie always gives as much information as possible with so much respect for the people involved. Telling the victims stories always makes her videos worth the watch.
Just a quick note regarding medication:
I'm a psychology student so my credibility is pretty limited compared to Dr. Anthony Rothschild, but I've been taught that anti-depressants (including Prozac) CAN trigger manic episodes in some people with bipolar personality disorder.* Mania doesn't imply violence, obviously, but if she was showing some symptoms of bipolar disorder, I think it's reasonable to question how improper medication could've exacerbated the whole thing.
(From a 2000 study by Barak et al., published in International Clinical Pharmacology. I haven't read it personally, this is just the source of the info cited in my textbook)
Are we going to talk about the fact she dug two graves? Only speculation, but maybe one was for her sister, and she changed her mind.
WHOA. That's a good point. I could see that as the sister seemed a lot more together than she herself was. Jealousy, definitely.
I was living in Missouri when this happened and it's just as horrifying to me now as when it was breaking news on the local tv stations. It seems to me that every adult in Alyssa's life had failed her by failing to get her the mental help she obviously needed, and Elizabeth Olten paid the price for it. It's a tragedy for everyone involved.
I’ve heard of this story before but you make it so much better with all the details.
Thank you for asking "where is Elizabeth's Fan Club?" Thank you for giving us a glimpse of who Elizabeth was.
Who’s the troll that put a thumbs down within 2 minutes… you can’t even have gotten past the intro!!!
Could have been a mistake or… could be one of those people who hate me but show up first for anything I post cause they really love me 🤣🤣🤣
🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼 Thank you for replying 🍍🍍🍍
No one could possibly hate you!!
Sending extra praise and love!!! 💜💜💜
@@chrisdavid735 Yep it's still interaction and still boosts the video so jokes on them! 🤣🤷
Omg Jainey strikes again?? 🤭😂
Probably because of the sponsorship right at the start??? Idk
Wowsers!!! I can't believe it's this time of year again!!! Way to go Stephanie you already have 200k views in a day. I remember watching you in your old living with the puppies on the couch when you first started. Your channel is what actually got me hooked on RUclips. Thanks for another great video!🥰
Honestly? Alyssa stating that she would, "give her own life" to bring back Elizabeth to me means A) I don't believe it like you, but B) also, even IF she did mean it means NOTHING since she has been suicidal her whole life and her own life means nothing to her, so I see nothing in that action whatsoever 🤷
Also, I am ALL for Elizabeth's grandma in her wheelchair yelling out, "I think Alyssa should get out of jail the same day Elizabeth gets out of the grave!" in the courtroom! Hell yeah!!!! I agree with her 100% *joins you in applauding her*
(edit: i am NOT saying that being on prozac is the ultimate cause or an excuse. just speaking about my personal experience) i dont know if she was taking Prozac at the time of the murder, and obviously she had other traumas and predispositions toward violence. But I want to mention that while I was on prozac among other SSRI's, I was completely apathetic, which is a major contrast to my personality while not on medication. I wonder if the SSRI's contributed in some way in her ability to finally carry this task out
They doubled her dose of Prozac a few weeks leading up to the murder of Elizabeth
@@elisseowens1039 thanks i just got to that part in the video :) i however dont believe being on SSRI's is any excuse. just may be a contributing factor. i never physically harmed anyone while in this state, there is no excuse.
@@busyizzyyyy yeah I agree, but I can't help but also think that it may have been a contributing factor along with her horrible childhood. It sort of reminds me of that documentary "child of rage". It's still no excuse for her actions, but I do feel that she was failed by the system. Her behaviors leading up to the murder should have been huge red flags for her gaurdians.
I became extremely aggressive when I was prescribed it. If they'd doubled my dose I have no doubt I could have killed someone myself. I couldn't control my emotions. Just lucky my dr noticed & got me off it immediately.
Isabel... just because you didn't have a reaction it doesn't mean others won't. Every human body is different and reacts differently to medications and other substances. You may be able to eat shellfish whereas it might kill someone else with an allergy. For every medication there is a long list of side effects... some you may get... others you won't... but they are all included because during the human testing phase of trials... somebody had that reaction. And they might just be one of only a few in the world that have that reaction. So before you judge... maybe get a little bit more info.
I love listening to you tell these cases! Like most others who follow you, and who have for a long time now like me, I feel like family. Thanks for making your channel comfortable and easy to listen and learn! We love you Steph!
I am absolutely going to blame Alyssa’s parents for this murder. She too, of course is at fault. But I hope her parents live with this guilt til the day they die. Absolutely disturbing
Absolutely 😢
THANK-YOU!
@@TejubescDM 100% agree, if u saw my comment it clearly places blame on Alyssa too. But too many “parents” bring kids into this world and neglect, abuse and don’t do a single thing to help their troubled child. Leading to a lot of tragedies. So yes, she is evil but her parents are too blame too. For not getting her any help, for not taking any accountability at all. Ok?? So ur young and drug addicts. Put her up for adoption. Notice YOUR kid has mental health issues? Get them help. So yes, they may have have not murdered her but they definitely didn’t do anything to prevent this tragedy from happening and as parents it is our responsibility to guide our children to some degree. And they subjected her to all kinds of horrific childhood abuse who knows what else that probably contributed to this tragedy to occur.
@@TejubescDM Yeap, i stated twice she holds accountability as well. 100% responsible as well.
And god knows what her mother was taking while Alyssa was in the womb...
I agree with you about grandma. I've said the exact same thing. She just said she killed someone. It was grandma's choice to get up and leave the room.
Exactly.. she could have spoken up and asked for a lawyer or asked for the questioning to halt for a minute to process what her granddaughter admitted to. I cannot imagine how I would have reacted.. probably would have flipped out right then and there. And I pray to God I never know what either side feels like. My heart does go out to both families (more so for Elizabeths family) BUT again, her grandmother chose to walk out, leaving her granddaughter in the room to continue admitting what she had done. If anything, you would think she would have had a little more consideration for that baby girl who had her life taken for no reason other than pure evil and her family!!!
@@southernladyish I agree. She has to be a decent person to have taken in and cared so much for her grandchildren. Alyssa had killed someone she was no longer innocent but her 9 year old victim was
I saw the thumbnail when you posted this and thought "Ugh I have seen so many videos about this pos (Alyssa) they're all the same and have been done to death. I finally caved and I'm so glad I did, thank you for making this about Elizabeth and not Alyssa like all the other videos I've seen. All your videos are so amazing and done way different than everyone else and I love that.
I’ll never understand the worshipping of these evil “humans” - no matter their age!!!! Disgusting
RIP Elizabeth 💔🙏🏼❤️
It just shows how many truly disturbed people are out there. Pretty scary.
Once I went Stephanie I can’t go back 👑
I can hardly handle listening to other true crime you tubers now .. SNS! The level of details and accuracy is everything 🪄🤓