Statement blocked in murder case against Bustamante
Wednesday, June 22, 2011 | 10:53 a.m. CDT
BY
The Associated Press
JEFFERSON CITY — A Missouri judge has blocked prosecutors from using part of a teenager's statement to police in her trial for the slaying of a 9-year-old neighbor.
In a decision released Wednesday, Cole County Circuit Judge Patricia Joyce said a juvenile officer wrongly participated in a Missouri State Highway Patrol interview of Alyssa Bustamante. The judge said the officer "used deceptive tactics" while encouraging the teenager to tell the truth about the death of Elizabeth Olten in October 2009.
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The patrol officer testified that Bustamante confessed to the slaying and led authorities to Elizabeth's body in the woods west of Jefferson City.
Bustamante, who was 15 at the time of Elizabeth's death, is charged as an adult with first-degree murder. She has pleaded not guilty. Her trial is scheduled for September.
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Comments
O.K. Judge!
Almost sounds as if you think that the Highway Patrol officer is lying, also!!!!
And I do not need to be corrected as to technicalities!!!
Myself and some other people feel as if stalling tactics are the standard to go by nowadays.
What ever happened to the "right to a speedy trial"?
The public has a right to a speedy trial, also.