Christopher Prestipino, Esmeralda Gonzalez.Photo: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department; InstagramA Las Vegas man was sentenced to 10 to 25 years in prison for killing an Instagram model whose remains were found encased in concrete.Christopher Prestipino, 49, pleaded guilty via an Alford plea last month to second-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping in the death of 24-year-oldEsmeralda Gonzalez, theLas Vegas Review-Journalreported. (An Alford plea is a guilty plea in which a defendant maintains their innocence while acknowledging that the prosecution has enough evidence to convict them.)Gonzalez vanished in late May 2019, according to police, and her body was found in the desert outside Glendale, Nevada, on Oct. 8 of that year.Her hands were bound and there was white tape around her head and neck. The body was found wrapped in blankets and stuffed inside a 250-gallon water tank that was then filled with concrete and covered with wood.Prosecutors alleged that Prestipino was high on methamphetamine when he strangled the model,FOX5reported.According toABC15, citing a police report, a tipster alerted police that Gonzalez was injected with pool cleaner before being dumped in the desert.Christopher Prestipino.Cassandra Garrett and Lisa Mort were taken into custody following Gonzalez’s death. Garrett later pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, according to FOX 5. Mort was charged with being an accessory and pleaded guilty in February 2020, FOX5 reported.At the hearing Tuesday, Gonzalez' brother, Juan Gonzalez Madera said his sister had dreams of becoming an attorney.“It pains me to know that she will never have the opportunity to go to law school and protect the rights of others,” Gonzalez Madera said, theReview-Journalreported.Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.“Learning that my sister was deceased deeply bruised my heart, but learning how she died shattered my heart forever,” he said, according to theReview-Journal.Prestipino’s defense attorney could not be reached for comment.
Christopher Prestipino, Esmeralda Gonzalez.Photo: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department; Instagram
A Las Vegas man was sentenced to 10 to 25 years in prison for killing an Instagram model whose remains were found encased in concrete.Christopher Prestipino, 49, pleaded guilty via an Alford plea last month to second-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping in the death of 24-year-oldEsmeralda Gonzalez, theLas Vegas Review-Journalreported. (An Alford plea is a guilty plea in which a defendant maintains their innocence while acknowledging that the prosecution has enough evidence to convict them.)Gonzalez vanished in late May 2019, according to police, and her body was found in the desert outside Glendale, Nevada, on Oct. 8 of that year.Her hands were bound and there was white tape around her head and neck. The body was found wrapped in blankets and stuffed inside a 250-gallon water tank that was then filled with concrete and covered with wood.Prosecutors alleged that Prestipino was high on methamphetamine when he strangled the model,FOX5reported.According toABC15, citing a police report, a tipster alerted police that Gonzalez was injected with pool cleaner before being dumped in the desert.Christopher Prestipino.Cassandra Garrett and Lisa Mort were taken into custody following Gonzalez’s death. Garrett later pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, according to FOX 5. Mort was charged with being an accessory and pleaded guilty in February 2020, FOX5 reported.At the hearing Tuesday, Gonzalez' brother, Juan Gonzalez Madera said his sister had dreams of becoming an attorney.“It pains me to know that she will never have the opportunity to go to law school and protect the rights of others,” Gonzalez Madera said, theReview-Journalreported.Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.“Learning that my sister was deceased deeply bruised my heart, but learning how she died shattered my heart forever,” he said, according to theReview-Journal.Prestipino’s defense attorney could not be reached for comment.
A Las Vegas man was sentenced to 10 to 25 years in prison for killing an Instagram model whose remains were found encased in concrete.
Christopher Prestipino, 49, pleaded guilty via an Alford plea last month to second-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping in the death of 24-year-oldEsmeralda Gonzalez, theLas Vegas Review-Journalreported. (An Alford plea is a guilty plea in which a defendant maintains their innocence while acknowledging that the prosecution has enough evidence to convict them.)
Gonzalez vanished in late May 2019, according to police, and her body was found in the desert outside Glendale, Nevada, on Oct. 8 of that year.
Her hands were bound and there was white tape around her head and neck. The body was found wrapped in blankets and stuffed inside a 250-gallon water tank that was then filled with concrete and covered with wood.
Prosecutors alleged that Prestipino was high on methamphetamine when he strangled the model,FOX5reported.
According toABC15, citing a police report, a tipster alerted police that Gonzalez was injected with pool cleaner before being dumped in the desert.
Christopher Prestipino.
Cassandra Garrett and Lisa Mort were taken into custody following Gonzalez’s death. Garrett later pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, according to FOX 5. Mort was charged with being an accessory and pleaded guilty in February 2020, FOX5 reported.
At the hearing Tuesday, Gonzalez' brother, Juan Gonzalez Madera said his sister had dreams of becoming an attorney.
“It pains me to know that she will never have the opportunity to go to law school and protect the rights of others,” Gonzalez Madera said, theReview-Journalreported.
Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.
“Learning that my sister was deceased deeply bruised my heart, but learning how she died shattered my heart forever,” he said, according to theReview-Journal.
Prestipino’s defense attorney could not be reached for comment.
source: people.com
