Alyssa D. Bustamante v. State of Missouri

Alyssa Bustamante appeals the circuit court’s judgment denying her Rule 24.035 motion for post-conviction relief after an evidentiary hearing. She claims that she was denied effective assistance of counsel and that the statute under which she was initially charged with first-degree murder is unconstitutional as applied to her. Finding no clear error, we affirm.

Background

On October 21, 2009, fifteen-year-old Alyssa Bustamante strangled and stabbed nine-year-old Elizabeth Olten to death and then buried her body in a shallow grave. Upon questioning by law enforcement officers, Bustamante…