Local News in Brief : Suspect Cleared in Killing
A teen-ager arrested in the sex slaying of an 11-year-old Compton girl was freed by police, who said the original suspect in the case has admitted to the killing, authorities said Thursday.
Alfonso Howard, 21, allegedly confessed to killing Wendy Bustamante, a fifth-grader who was molested and shot in the chest after disappearing over the weekend, Compton Police Cmdr. Terry Ebert said.
Howard also allegedly admitted making up a story that a 17-year-old youth was involved in the slaying, Ebert said. The youth, who had been arrested based on Howard’s story, was released from custody late Wednesday.
“We’ve determined (the youth) was not involved in any way. It appears that Howard just threw his name into the pot to kind of stir things up and lead us away from himself,” Ebert said. “Howard has since admitted he did it by himself.”
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