{"id":264438,"date":"2023-03-15T13:48:26","date_gmt":"2023-03-15T18:48:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=264438"},"modified":"2023-03-15T18:12:19","modified_gmt":"2023-03-15T23:12:19","slug":"las-vegas-accused-murderer-pleads-guilty-in-gruesome-death-of-instagram-model","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/las-vegas-accused-murderer-pleads-guilty-in-gruesome-death-of-instagram-model\/","title":{"rendered":"Las Vegas Accused Murderer Pleads Guilty in Gruesome Death of Instagram Model"},"content":{"rendered":"

A man pleaded guilty on Monday to the abduction and grisly murder<\/a> of a 24-year-old model whose body was found in the Nevada desert encased in concrete.<\/p>\n

\"Christopher
Christopher Prestipino, in a mug shot left, pleaded guilty to the murder of Esmeralda Gonzalez, right. Her body was found in the desert. (Images: LVMPD)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The defendant, Christopher Prestipino, 49, will be sentenced on April 25 for first-degree kidnapping and second-degree murder charges in connection with the 2019 Las Vegas death of Esmeralda Gonzalez.<\/p>\n

Prestipino’s plea was entered in Las Vegas court under the Alford doctrine<\/a>. That means Prestipino maintains his innocence but acknowledges prosecutors likely have sufficient evidence for a conviction.<\/p>\n

Craig Mueller, the Las Vegas-based criminal defense attorney representing Prestipino, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal<\/em> that his client agreed to the plea deal because \u201cHe didn\u2019t want to risk a life sentence.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Prestipino was arrested on Feb. 18, 2021, and continues to be held at the Clark County Detention Center. Before arrest, he fled to Belize, then returned to the US.<\/p>\n

Prestipino faces decades in prison during the upcoming sentencing hearing.<\/p>\n

The 24-year-old victim had worked in the adult entertainment industry, the Review-Journal<\/em> reported. She had more than 300K followers on her Instagram page.<\/p>\n

Night of the Crime<\/h2>\n

Gonzalez was seen on surveillance video outside Prestipino\u2019s residence on May 31, 2019, wearing high heels and lingerie and appearing disoriented, according to the <\/span>New York Post. <\/em>Gonzalez and Prestipino reportedly lived near each other.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Prestipino allegedly gave Gonzalez methamphetamine<\/a> (meth) that night. He reportedly also tied her to a bedpost for an extended period. She reportedly struck him at one point before he allegedly injected her body with pool cleaning chemicals and later strangled her.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Prestipino then allegedly transported Gonzalez’s body into the desert in a rented U-Haul truck. Several months later, on October 8, authorities found her body near Glendale, Nev.<\/p>\n

Her hands were tied, and her head and neck were covered with white tape, People<\/em> reported. The body was covered by blankets and stuffed in a 250-gallon water tank.<\/p>\n

The coroner\u2019s office was unable to identify a precise cause of death. Her identity was confirmed by DNA tests, the Post<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n

Gonzalez was reported missing by her brother. Later, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) detectives received a tip in the case and narrowed in on Prestipino as the suspect.<\/p>\n

Prestipino Reportedly Heard Voices<\/h2>\n

Shortly after his arrest, Prestipino’s attorney claimed his client was hearing voices and had a diminished memory, according to the Daily Mail<\/em>. But he was never found incompetent to stand trial.<\/p>\n

Prestipino\u2019s former roommate, Casandra Garrett, 43, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the model\u2019s death. She is scheduled to be sentenced on May 2.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Prestipino\u2019s one-time girlfriend, Lisa Mort, pleaded guilty to accessory to murder in connection with the case. She was sentenced to between two and five years in prison.<\/p>\n

Gonzalez grew up in Mexico. She attended UNLV, People<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A man pleaded guilty on Monday to the abduction and grisly murder of a 24-year-old model whose body was found in the Nevada desert encased in concrete. The defendant, Christopher Prestipino, 49, will be sentenced on April 25 for first-degree kidnapping and second-degree murder charges in connection with the 2019 Las Vegas death of Esmeralda […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":264442,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,81886],"tags":[85479,13766,85480,23,82002],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLas Vegas Accused Murderer Pleads Guilty in Death of Model<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A man pleaded guilty on Monday to the abduction and grisly murder of a model. 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Her body was found in the desert encased in concrete.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/las-vegas-accused-murderer-pleads-guilty-in-gruesome-death-of-instagram-model\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-03-15T18:48:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-03-15T23:12:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/christopher-prestipino-esmeralda-gonzalez-pd3.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1490\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"983\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ed Silverstein\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgedsilv\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ed Silverstein\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/las-vegas-accused-murderer-pleads-guilty-in-gruesome-death-of-instagram-model\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/las-vegas-accused-murderer-pleads-guilty-in-gruesome-death-of-instagram-model\/\",\"name\":\"Las Vegas Accused Murderer Pleads Guilty in Death of Model\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/las-vegas-accused-murderer-pleads-guilty-in-gruesome-death-of-instagram-model\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/las-vegas-accused-murderer-pleads-guilty-in-gruesome-death-of-instagram-model\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/christopher-prestipino-esmeralda-gonzalez-pd3.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-03-15T18:48:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-03-15T23:12:19+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/b3771b02527bcbda9af984b9b1ff098e\"},\"description\":\"A man pleaded guilty on Monday to the abduction and grisly murder of a model. 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