JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A psychiatrist testifying for prosecutors says there is no way that Prozac, an antidepressant drug, could have made a teenager kill a 9-year-old neighbor girl. Dr. Anthony Rothschild testified Tuesday in the sentencing hearing for Alyssa Bustamante, who pleaded guilty to strangling, stabbing and slicing the throat of Elizabeth Olten of St. Martin's in October 2009.
Defense attorneys who are arguing for a sentence less than the maximum of life in prison have sought to show Prozac could have contributed to Bustamante's mood swings and violent tendencies. Rothschild says, however, no scientific or medical evidence shows Prozac causes people to commit murder. To the contrary, he says it actually can decrease hostility and aggression.
The judge also heard from a psychiatrist who testified that an increased dosage of Prozac could have made Bustamante more prone toward violence in the weeks leading up to the killing.
Bustamante pleaded guilty to second-degree murder last month. Bustamante is 18 but was 15 at the time of the crime.
