A recent news story I find significant is the story of an 18-year-old girl from Missouri who was sentenced this past week to life in prison for the murder of her 9-year-old neighbor. Alyssa Bustamante was just 15 years old when she stabbed, strangled, and slit the throat of Elizabeth Olten on October 21, 2009. This story becomes even more disturbing with the revelation of Bustamante’s journal confessions. She describes the feeling of killing as “ahmazing” and added, “As soon as you get over the ‘ohmygawd I can’t do this’ feeling, it’s pretty enjoyable.” Her journal then continued with, “Kay, I gotta go to church now…lol.”
Originally charged with first-degree murder, Bustamante pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in order to avoid a courtroom trial and gain the possibility of parole. She will now have to serve a mandatory 35 years and 5 months in prison before becoming eligible for parole.
This story is newsworthy for several reasons. The most obvious reason is the unusualness of it. It's not every day that people hear stories of teenage girls killing their neighbors; much less admit to enjoying it. The story also has an impact on people, especially those with teenage daughters or young children. It makes parents think twice about letting their son or daughter go over to play at the neighbors’ house if they are not very familiar with them. It causes parents of teenagers to look for “red flags” in recent behavior that might indicate something bigger going on. The tragedy of the story sparks natural human interest as well as emotional appeal. And of course, the timeliness is relevant in that Bustamante's sentence was handed to her just this past week.
I think this story could be made local by talking to parents of young children who are unfamiliar with many of their neighbors, and allowing them to share safety tips they practice. Obviously not every neighbor is a killer, but by encouraging parents to use caution for the safety of their children, preventative steps might be taken to ensure similar crimes don’t happen again. Also, by referencing local centers where troubled teenagers who have expressed harmful or suicidal thoughts can go to receive help, more people may think about getting help for their loved ones to prevent similar instances from occurring.
Good analysis of the news values of this story. 10/10
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