1 00:00:05,519 --> 00:00:09,719 Speaker 1: It all goes down in Las Vegas. Now, before you 2 00:00:09,800 --> 00:00:13,720 Speaker 1: judge Vegas is sin city, it's a community. It's not 3 00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:22,840 Speaker 1: just strippers and gamblers and loan sharks and tourists and grifters. 4 00:00:23,760 --> 00:00:29,240 Speaker 1: There's a big community that lives there, people just like us. 5 00:00:29,640 --> 00:00:33,480 Speaker 1: What happened to a beautiful young girl just twenty four 6 00:00:33,880 --> 00:00:47,400 Speaker 1: years old, Esmeralda Gonzalez, a model crime stories with Nancy Grace. 7 00:00:53,360 --> 00:00:56,080 Speaker 1: Two months have passed and Juang Lonzalez Da says there 8 00:00:56,120 --> 00:00:58,080 Speaker 1: has been no sign of his twenty four year old sister, 9 00:00:58,160 --> 00:01:01,000 Speaker 1: as Marlalda Gonzalez. She was last seen May thirtieth at 10 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:03,280 Speaker 1: her South was home off of Pebble and duringo on 11 00:01:03,440 --> 00:01:05,920 Speaker 1: that day in May, Madetta remembers checking on his sister 12 00:01:06,080 --> 00:01:09,280 Speaker 1: and to visit her. I came to the home and 13 00:01:09,360 --> 00:01:14,039 Speaker 1: she wasn't here, and so I automatized. I immediately panicked 14 00:01:14,160 --> 00:01:17,479 Speaker 1: because it wasn't like her to kind of just wander off, Dada, says. 15 00:01:17,480 --> 00:01:20,759 Speaker 1: Neighbors told police Asmuralda was walking on the street asking 16 00:01:20,760 --> 00:01:22,600 Speaker 1: for a ride to a car dealership. She said she 17 00:01:22,680 --> 00:01:25,720 Speaker 1: lost her keys, madea says somehow his sister made it 18 00:01:25,760 --> 00:01:28,120 Speaker 1: to the car dealership. These images believed to be near 19 00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:30,960 Speaker 1: that dealership show this man, who police say Esmeralda was 20 00:01:31,080 --> 00:01:33,479 Speaker 1: last seen with. Detectives would like to speak with him 21 00:01:33,480 --> 00:01:35,640 Speaker 1: for possible leads to the case. I don't have any 22 00:01:35,640 --> 00:01:39,360 Speaker 1: idea who he is. I've never seen him before, but 23 00:01:39,400 --> 00:01:42,520 Speaker 1: if he if someone knows who he is, we kindly 24 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:44,920 Speaker 1: asked that he comes forward. Leda says his sister has 25 00:01:44,959 --> 00:01:48,080 Speaker 1: never vanished like this before. He has a message for her, Esmeralda, 26 00:01:48,200 --> 00:01:51,560 Speaker 1: we miss you, we love you. What happened to a 27 00:01:51,560 --> 00:01:57,120 Speaker 1: beautiful young girl just twenty four years old, Esmeralda Gonzalez, 28 00:01:57,320 --> 00:02:01,919 Speaker 1: a model. You were just hearing our friends at News 29 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:06,760 Speaker 1: three in Las Vegas. That was Antonio Castellan. I'm Nancy Grace. 30 00:02:06,920 --> 00:02:09,919 Speaker 1: This is crime Stories. Thank you for being with us. 31 00:02:10,680 --> 00:02:14,880 Speaker 1: It all goes down in Las Vegas. Now, before you 32 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:19,120 Speaker 1: judge Vegas is sin city, I get it. You gotta 33 00:02:19,200 --> 00:02:22,840 Speaker 1: know that all around Vegas there are families and schools 34 00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:28,120 Speaker 1: and playgrounds and parks and churches and temples and moss. 35 00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:35,280 Speaker 1: It's a community. It's not just strippers and gamblers and 36 00:02:36,080 --> 00:02:42,840 Speaker 1: loan sharks and tourists and grifters. There's a big community 37 00:02:42,919 --> 00:02:48,120 Speaker 1: that lives there people just like us again. I'm Nancy Grace. 38 00:02:48,200 --> 00:02:52,040 Speaker 1: This is Crime Stories as Morelda goes missing, joining me 39 00:02:52,600 --> 00:02:56,000 Speaker 1: judge trial lawyer Ashley Wilcott. You can find her on 40 00:02:56,160 --> 00:02:59,840 Speaker 1: Court TV and at Ashley Wilcot dot com. James Shell 41 00:03:00,160 --> 00:03:05,000 Speaker 1: not twenty seven years major case detective SWAT officer now lawyer. 42 00:03:05,480 --> 00:03:09,040 Speaker 1: Doctor Tim Gallagher, medical examiner for the State of Florida. 43 00:03:09,240 --> 00:03:13,799 Speaker 1: Doctor Liz at Dubor, psychologist, a founder of Visionista's by 44 00:03:13,880 --> 00:03:17,760 Speaker 1: Design and at doctor Liz dot com. Straight out to 45 00:03:18,040 --> 00:03:22,920 Speaker 1: Crime online dot Com. Investigative reporter Levi, Paige Levi, Let's 46 00:03:22,919 --> 00:03:26,239 Speaker 1: start at the beginning. When was the last time this 47 00:03:26,360 --> 00:03:28,960 Speaker 1: twenty four year old woman had been seen? S Morelda 48 00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:32,000 Speaker 1: So twenty four year old as Morelda Gonzalez. She was 49 00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:36,760 Speaker 1: last seen May fifth in the Durango Drive in Pebble 50 00:03:36,840 --> 00:03:40,320 Speaker 1: Road area of Las Vegas. She's by foot tall, one 51 00:03:40,440 --> 00:03:43,400 Speaker 1: hundred and ten pounds. She has a blind air and 52 00:03:43,760 --> 00:03:48,080 Speaker 1: she just vanished from her home. Her brother went to 53 00:03:48,160 --> 00:03:50,640 Speaker 1: her house to look for her. The front door was 54 00:03:50,800 --> 00:03:54,480 Speaker 1: open and unlocked and the lights were on, and that 55 00:03:54,640 --> 00:03:58,280 Speaker 1: was the last time that anybody had seen her except 56 00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:04,320 Speaker 1: she had been wonder around the area disoriented, dressed only 57 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:09,640 Speaker 1: in high hills and lingerie. Someone even took her to 58 00:04:09,680 --> 00:04:13,520 Speaker 1: a BMW dealership and dropped her off, and then she 59 00:04:13,680 --> 00:04:17,679 Speaker 1: was actually seen trying to get into someone's home, caught 60 00:04:17,720 --> 00:04:19,919 Speaker 1: on their security footage, and they told her, you're in 61 00:04:19,960 --> 00:04:22,920 Speaker 1: the wrong home. So that was the last time anyone 62 00:04:22,960 --> 00:04:26,320 Speaker 1: had seen this young woman. Okay, I'm trying to digest 63 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:29,039 Speaker 1: what you just said with me. Crime online dot Com 64 00:04:29,040 --> 00:04:33,039 Speaker 1: investiget a reporter leavi page. You know what, you better 65 00:04:33,080 --> 00:04:35,279 Speaker 1: tell me that again a little bit more slowly, starting 66 00:04:35,279 --> 00:04:37,760 Speaker 1: with when she was last seen alive May thirty. First, 67 00:04:37,760 --> 00:04:41,520 Speaker 1: she was last seen in the area wandering around. She 68 00:04:41,640 --> 00:04:46,000 Speaker 1: seemed disoriented. She had, you know, waved down someone in 69 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:50,320 Speaker 1: the neighborhood to take her to a BMW dealership, and 70 00:04:51,040 --> 00:04:55,080 Speaker 1: she was wearing only her lingerie and high hills. She 71 00:04:55,200 --> 00:04:58,680 Speaker 1: then went to someone else's residence in the area and 72 00:04:58,800 --> 00:05:02,000 Speaker 1: tried to attempt to get in and they said, you've 73 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:04,159 Speaker 1: got the wrong poem, and this was caught on their 74 00:05:04,200 --> 00:05:07,560 Speaker 1: security camera footage, and that was the last time that 75 00:05:07,640 --> 00:05:13,120 Speaker 1: she was seen. Okay, clearly disoriented, out of it. We 76 00:05:13,160 --> 00:05:16,479 Speaker 1: are learning that this young woman, just twenty four years old, 77 00:05:17,120 --> 00:05:22,560 Speaker 1: suffered from depression and schizophrenia. So before you judge her 78 00:05:22,640 --> 00:05:26,039 Speaker 1: or thinking she was drunk or high, we are learning 79 00:05:26,080 --> 00:05:31,440 Speaker 1: she had a diagnosed medical condition. To doctor Liz DeVore 80 00:05:31,560 --> 00:05:36,800 Speaker 1: joining us, Liz, what is schizophrenia and how does it 81 00:05:36,839 --> 00:05:41,640 Speaker 1: affect your behavior? So, schizophrenia is a diagnosis that is 82 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:48,400 Speaker 1: prevalent with the key features of psychotic psychosis, psychotic episodes 83 00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:56,919 Speaker 1: that include delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking and speech. So there's 84 00:05:57,000 --> 00:06:02,800 Speaker 1: really a fragile connection to reality for individuals who are 85 00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:07,279 Speaker 1: diagnosed with stophrenia, and so it definitely can affect behavior 86 00:06:09,440 --> 00:06:15,120 Speaker 1: depending on the severity of the symptoms and the whole 87 00:06:15,279 --> 00:06:18,919 Speaker 1: that the person has on reality. So the fact that she, 88 00:06:20,040 --> 00:06:24,320 Speaker 1: you know, was seen wandering around is not an uncommon 89 00:06:24,560 --> 00:06:28,360 Speaker 1: kind of behavior that you would see with a non 90 00:06:28,440 --> 00:06:33,560 Speaker 1: purposeful kind of walk with someone with schizophrenia. I remember 91 00:06:34,080 --> 00:06:39,160 Speaker 1: dealing with so many defendants that tried to go with 92 00:06:39,279 --> 00:06:46,960 Speaker 1: middle illness or insanity, particularly schizophrenia. I recalled distinctly James 93 00:06:46,960 --> 00:06:50,359 Speaker 1: shell Nutt twenty seven years Metro major k SWAT officer 94 00:06:50,440 --> 00:06:54,880 Speaker 1: now lawyer, when I heard this about a defendant in 95 00:06:55,080 --> 00:06:59,760 Speaker 1: behind bars that he had smeared himself and the walls 96 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:04,359 Speaker 1: with his own feces that he had tried to pull 97 00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:09,840 Speaker 1: out extract one of his eyeballs. I'm just a lay person, 98 00:07:10,560 --> 00:07:13,720 Speaker 1: but that is what schizophrenia can do to a person. 99 00:07:14,320 --> 00:07:19,360 Speaker 1: And you he have auditory which are the worst, not 100 00:07:19,440 --> 00:07:24,760 Speaker 1: just optical but auditory hallucinations where you hear the angel 101 00:07:24,840 --> 00:07:27,480 Speaker 1: of death telling you to commit a murder or to 102 00:07:27,560 --> 00:07:34,200 Speaker 1: kill yourself. You know that is overwhelming. That's what schizophrenia 103 00:07:34,280 --> 00:07:37,040 Speaker 1: can do to you in the real world. James Shelnutt, 104 00:07:37,080 --> 00:07:40,800 Speaker 1: I'm sure you've seen defendants and victims that we're suffering. 105 00:07:40,920 --> 00:07:44,480 Speaker 1: This lady, this young girl, Esmeralda Gonzalez just twenty four, 106 00:07:44,680 --> 00:07:50,960 Speaker 1: also bipolar, and James, you know it, when someone has schizophrenia, 107 00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:53,400 Speaker 1: it can't be hidden. No, I agree with you, man, 108 00:07:54,080 --> 00:07:57,480 Speaker 1: and adds a whole lot of different dimensions to both 109 00:07:57,520 --> 00:08:01,480 Speaker 1: sides of the investigation. Yeah, from the victim standpoint, it 110 00:08:01,520 --> 00:08:04,680 Speaker 1: makes it a lot more difficult, uh to figure out 111 00:08:04,760 --> 00:08:08,240 Speaker 1: what happened. When you've got somebody who does not have stability, 112 00:08:08,320 --> 00:08:10,440 Speaker 1: you know, it's an easier case. I'm not going to 113 00:08:10,480 --> 00:08:12,360 Speaker 1: say easy, but an easier case. When you have, say 114 00:08:12,400 --> 00:08:15,400 Speaker 1: a mom who's stable, she picks her kids up at 115 00:08:15,400 --> 00:08:18,400 Speaker 1: the day care. She's either working or housewife. Every day, 116 00:08:18,400 --> 00:08:21,760 Speaker 1: she has a routine. There's no these psychological problems. You know, 117 00:08:21,880 --> 00:08:25,239 Speaker 1: you can go back and find out what's different very easily. 118 00:08:25,600 --> 00:08:28,320 Speaker 1: But when you've got someone who's got these types of issues, 119 00:08:28,400 --> 00:08:32,559 Speaker 1: it makes it difficult. They're often sometimes transient, they make 120 00:08:32,600 --> 00:08:36,120 Speaker 1: irrational decisions. Sometimes it's hard to find what their normal 121 00:08:36,800 --> 00:08:39,480 Speaker 1: routine is because they may not have one that the 122 00:08:39,520 --> 00:08:41,160 Speaker 1: rest of us would look at and say as normal. 123 00:08:41,559 --> 00:08:43,720 Speaker 1: You know, on the on the suspect side, nan see. 124 00:08:43,760 --> 00:08:45,360 Speaker 1: You know, you look at and you say, okay, maybe 125 00:08:45,400 --> 00:08:49,559 Speaker 1: this guy is insane or from a from a legal perspective, 126 00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:52,920 Speaker 1: but in the same token, is there anything that we 127 00:08:53,000 --> 00:08:56,200 Speaker 1: can show to indicate whether or not he appreciated what 128 00:08:56,240 --> 00:08:58,520 Speaker 1: he was doing, he understood the difference between right and 129 00:08:58,600 --> 00:09:00,920 Speaker 1: rome for there to be a criminal case, and it 130 00:09:01,040 --> 00:09:04,360 Speaker 1: asked just some additional dimensions that create an awful lot 131 00:09:04,400 --> 00:09:07,160 Speaker 1: of work and sometimes can lead to confusion. So the 132 00:09:07,240 --> 00:09:10,720 Speaker 1: last we know of her to Ashley Wilcot, judge, trial 133 00:09:10,800 --> 00:09:14,120 Speaker 1: lawyer and anchor at Court TV. You can find her 134 00:09:14,160 --> 00:09:18,000 Speaker 1: Ashley Wilcott dot com Ashley what we know And this 135 00:09:18,080 --> 00:09:22,320 Speaker 1: has been supported by multiple witness testimony. She was last 136 00:09:22,320 --> 00:09:27,599 Speaker 1: seen wandering around in her heels, and I guess Pj's 137 00:09:28,720 --> 00:09:31,000 Speaker 1: I don't know why men always call it lingerie. I 138 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:35,559 Speaker 1: guess in their own heads that's more sexy. And she 139 00:09:36,200 --> 00:09:39,959 Speaker 1: wanted to be taken to a BMW dealership, and she 140 00:09:40,080 --> 00:09:44,280 Speaker 1: had gone up to a random home. That's where I 141 00:09:44,360 --> 00:09:47,560 Speaker 1: believe I would start the investigation at the BMW dealership 142 00:09:47,640 --> 00:09:51,079 Speaker 1: and add that random home she stumbled into, the random 143 00:09:51,080 --> 00:09:53,600 Speaker 1: home where she stumbled into. I completely agree that's the 144 00:09:53,720 --> 00:09:57,600 Speaker 1: very first step that I would start with, because she's 145 00:09:57,640 --> 00:10:01,679 Speaker 1: seen May fifth wandering around the raid, goes to this 146 00:10:01,880 --> 00:10:04,520 Speaker 1: random home, and then she's never heard from again. And 147 00:10:04,600 --> 00:10:09,760 Speaker 1: the tragic part of this, I want to emphasize random home. 148 00:10:10,240 --> 00:10:13,280 Speaker 1: So it just feels like, well, certainly nothing would have happened. 149 00:10:13,320 --> 00:10:16,640 Speaker 1: Certainly someone might have called an ambulance, called police, helped her, 150 00:10:16,880 --> 00:10:19,720 Speaker 1: but that was the last she was seen. Leavi page 151 00:10:19,800 --> 00:10:24,160 Speaker 1: What can you tell me about what neighbors say? Give 152 00:10:24,200 --> 00:10:26,920 Speaker 1: me again the description of what they say happened when 153 00:10:26,960 --> 00:10:30,040 Speaker 1: they observed es Morella wandering around in her heels and 154 00:10:30,160 --> 00:10:33,880 Speaker 1: her as you say, lingerie, Well, she was disoriented. They 155 00:10:33,920 --> 00:10:36,880 Speaker 1: said that her gate was off. She was not walking 156 00:10:38,960 --> 00:10:41,640 Speaker 1: out of it. And to you, doctor Tim Gallagher, the 157 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:45,440 Speaker 1: medical example for the state of Florida. You know, I 158 00:10:45,440 --> 00:10:47,240 Speaker 1: hate to think of you taking a break from dead 159 00:10:47,280 --> 00:10:49,640 Speaker 1: bodies to be with us, but so be it. I'll 160 00:10:49,640 --> 00:10:52,080 Speaker 1: take it, doctor Gallagher. What does that say to you 161 00:10:52,120 --> 00:10:55,880 Speaker 1: that she had an uneven gate? That's very significant in 162 00:10:55,920 --> 00:11:00,199 Speaker 1: my mind. Well, an uneven gate in terms of the 163 00:11:00,240 --> 00:11:03,360 Speaker 1: way I would interpret that would be she could be 164 00:11:03,600 --> 00:11:06,800 Speaker 1: under the influence of some medication, or she could be 165 00:11:07,000 --> 00:11:10,560 Speaker 1: very emotionally distraught, you know, which is affecting her ability 166 00:11:11,240 --> 00:11:14,360 Speaker 1: and find motor movements and giving her this unstead of 167 00:11:14,440 --> 00:11:40,760 Speaker 1: game time stories with Nancy Grace. The Park County Corner 168 00:11:40,800 --> 00:11:43,200 Speaker 1: has yet to release the identity of the woman, but 169 00:11:43,280 --> 00:11:46,880 Speaker 1: neighbors tell me her name is Esmeralda Gonzales. Police say 170 00:11:46,920 --> 00:11:49,800 Speaker 1: she was held against her will inside this home and 171 00:11:49,840 --> 00:11:53,040 Speaker 1: then murdered. Her body was found in the desert last week. 172 00:11:53,440 --> 00:11:56,040 Speaker 1: I'm very saddened. Neighbors are in a state of shock. 173 00:11:56,240 --> 00:12:00,200 Speaker 1: Relatives of Esmeralda Gonzalez first reported her missing in late May. 174 00:12:00,320 --> 00:12:03,080 Speaker 1: These are photos from a public Facebook page called find 175 00:12:03,200 --> 00:12:06,600 Speaker 1: Esmeralda Gonzales. In post She's described as a loving daughter 176 00:12:06,760 --> 00:12:09,640 Speaker 1: and sister. The man and woman arrested in connection with 177 00:12:09,679 --> 00:12:13,160 Speaker 1: her death appeared in court this week. Christopher Prestopino is 178 00:12:13,240 --> 00:12:16,959 Speaker 1: charged with open murder, first agree kidnapping, and conspiracy murder. 179 00:12:17,080 --> 00:12:20,199 Speaker 1: Police were led to Prestopino through an anonymous tip. They 180 00:12:20,200 --> 00:12:23,720 Speaker 1: believe he murdered the victim inside his home. Homicide detectives 181 00:12:23,720 --> 00:12:26,440 Speaker 1: found the body last week in a concrete and wooden 182 00:12:26,480 --> 00:12:29,600 Speaker 1: structure in a desert area north of Las Vegas. Police 183 00:12:29,640 --> 00:12:32,840 Speaker 1: also arrested Lisa Morts, who they believe knew of the murder. 184 00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:36,360 Speaker 1: She's charged with harboring, concealing, and aiding a felony offender. 185 00:12:36,640 --> 00:12:39,640 Speaker 1: Esmeralda's next door neighbor can't believe she's gone. She was 186 00:12:39,880 --> 00:12:42,160 Speaker 1: very sweet, very nice. She had she had a cute 187 00:12:42,160 --> 00:12:44,719 Speaker 1: little toy poodle and she was set out on the 188 00:12:45,160 --> 00:12:49,840 Speaker 1: little bench there and she would She's just very pleasant 189 00:12:49,840 --> 00:12:52,600 Speaker 1: every time we speak, he confirmed. Esmeralda's addressed through the 190 00:12:52,600 --> 00:12:55,720 Speaker 1: Clark County Assessor's website. And this is interesting. It's only 191 00:12:55,760 --> 00:12:58,720 Speaker 1: a couple of minutes away from Prestopino's home. I am 192 00:12:58,800 --> 00:13:02,760 Speaker 1: just sick. I am sick to my heart. You were 193 00:13:02,800 --> 00:13:07,000 Speaker 1: hearing Las Vegas eight News Now reporter that was Orchomanna 194 00:13:07,280 --> 00:13:13,480 Speaker 1: speaking this young girl at twenty four years old, es 195 00:13:13,600 --> 00:13:18,360 Speaker 1: Moireal de Gonzalez found dead and listened to this in 196 00:13:18,520 --> 00:13:23,720 Speaker 1: a wooden and cement encased enclosure out in the middle 197 00:13:23,760 --> 00:13:26,000 Speaker 1: of the desert. And now you know, I started off 198 00:13:26,040 --> 00:13:29,200 Speaker 1: by saying, Vegas, don't judge a book by its cover 199 00:13:29,440 --> 00:13:32,760 Speaker 1: just because there's gambling, and we know that there's strippers, 200 00:13:32,800 --> 00:13:35,560 Speaker 1: and there's booze, and there's dope, and there's loan sharks. 201 00:13:35,920 --> 00:13:40,320 Speaker 1: And now this, this is exactly what you see in 202 00:13:40,360 --> 00:13:44,000 Speaker 1: the movies. It doesn't even sound real. Welcome back by 203 00:13:44,120 --> 00:13:50,479 Speaker 1: Nancy Grace. This is crime stories. This case is so disturbing. 204 00:13:50,800 --> 00:13:54,520 Speaker 1: She is so helpless, this woman, es Morell de Gonzalez. 205 00:13:55,040 --> 00:14:00,120 Speaker 1: She is bipolar, she is schizophrenic. She's wandering around and 206 00:14:00,600 --> 00:14:07,280 Speaker 1: heels and lagerie and some wolf in sheep's clothing takes 207 00:14:07,440 --> 00:14:10,840 Speaker 1: advantage of her. Take a listen to our friends at 208 00:14:10,960 --> 00:14:14,520 Speaker 1: Katie Envy. Prosecutor suspect that a body that was recently 209 00:14:14,559 --> 00:14:17,199 Speaker 1: found in the desert is missing woman twenty four year 210 00:14:17,200 --> 00:14:21,560 Speaker 1: old as Morelda Gonzalez and her neighbor, Christopher Prestopino is 211 00:14:21,560 --> 00:14:25,080 Speaker 1: accused of killing her. Prestopino has now been charged with 212 00:14:25,160 --> 00:14:29,280 Speaker 1: kidnapping Gonzalez, holding her against her wealth, then injecting her 213 00:14:29,320 --> 00:14:33,040 Speaker 1: with a poisonous substance. And we spoke to Esmeralda's family 214 00:14:33,080 --> 00:14:36,200 Speaker 1: when she was first reported missing earlier this year. She 215 00:14:36,240 --> 00:14:39,600 Speaker 1: was last Senior Durango and Pebble. Prestopino was in court 216 00:14:39,680 --> 00:14:42,480 Speaker 1: this morning and a judge has denied his bail. So 217 00:14:42,600 --> 00:14:46,280 Speaker 1: let me understand ley my page. So she like a lamb, 218 00:14:46,640 --> 00:14:50,400 Speaker 1: just falls into his lap. He didn't know her before. 219 00:14:50,480 --> 00:14:54,320 Speaker 1: She literally comes knocking at his door. So a witness 220 00:14:54,520 --> 00:14:58,240 Speaker 1: called police and gave them a tit. They said that 221 00:14:58,480 --> 00:15:02,000 Speaker 1: he had convinced her to do drugs, to do meth, 222 00:15:02,520 --> 00:15:06,760 Speaker 1: and that she had gotten angry and threatened to report 223 00:15:06,840 --> 00:15:09,520 Speaker 1: him to the police for doing these drugs and having 224 00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:14,240 Speaker 1: meths inside the home. And then that's what turn things violent. 225 00:15:14,280 --> 00:15:16,680 Speaker 1: That he actually tied her up to a bed post, 226 00:15:17,040 --> 00:15:21,440 Speaker 1: and that he beat her and strangled her. He thought 227 00:15:21,480 --> 00:15:25,520 Speaker 1: that she was dead, but then she woke up, and 228 00:15:25,560 --> 00:15:28,800 Speaker 1: then he poisoned her with pool cleaner. Dear lord, and 229 00:15:28,880 --> 00:15:30,760 Speaker 1: him and doctor Tim Gallagher. I really don't know where 230 00:15:30,800 --> 00:15:33,240 Speaker 1: to start. I don't know whether to start with what 231 00:15:33,320 --> 00:15:35,680 Speaker 1: does meth do to a person or what does pool 232 00:15:35,720 --> 00:15:38,480 Speaker 1: cleaner injected into your body do to a person? Let's 233 00:15:38,480 --> 00:15:41,360 Speaker 1: just start with a meth. Well, mess nancy is the 234 00:15:41,440 --> 00:15:45,560 Speaker 1: same as speed. So what it does is it gives 235 00:15:45,600 --> 00:15:48,560 Speaker 1: you an altered sense of time and space. It makes 236 00:15:48,600 --> 00:15:53,640 Speaker 1: you very confused, and some people who do mess you 237 00:15:53,720 --> 00:15:56,480 Speaker 1: have been up for days and days without any sleep 238 00:15:56,520 --> 00:16:00,000 Speaker 1: at all, so able to affect you mentally that way. 239 00:16:00,160 --> 00:16:03,560 Speaker 1: It's a highly addictive drug and once you gets started, 240 00:16:03,600 --> 00:16:06,080 Speaker 1: it's a very tough road to get off of. Okay, 241 00:16:06,800 --> 00:16:10,120 Speaker 1: I really don't I never imagine when I was going 242 00:16:10,120 --> 00:16:12,520 Speaker 1: through law school that I would put all these words 243 00:16:12,520 --> 00:16:17,000 Speaker 1: in one sentence. But doctor Tim Gallagher, Medical Examder, State 244 00:16:17,040 --> 00:16:22,680 Speaker 1: of Florida injected with pool cleaner. What is pool cleaner? 245 00:16:23,160 --> 00:16:25,840 Speaker 1: And then what happens when that's injected to your body? Well, 246 00:16:25,880 --> 00:16:27,920 Speaker 1: there are two types of pool cleaners. There's one that 247 00:16:28,200 --> 00:16:31,720 Speaker 1: is chlorine based and there is one that is based 248 00:16:31,800 --> 00:16:36,760 Speaker 1: in a chemical called bromide. What that does it it's 249 00:16:36,800 --> 00:16:40,120 Speaker 1: a directly poisonous to all of the tissues. So it'll 250 00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:44,920 Speaker 1: immediately prevent the lungs from expanding, it'll stop the heart 251 00:16:45,640 --> 00:16:50,680 Speaker 1: from beating, and after enough pool cleaner has been injected 252 00:16:50,680 --> 00:16:53,560 Speaker 1: into you, your kidneys will also shut down, so you 253 00:16:53,640 --> 00:16:58,160 Speaker 1: have multi organ failure and death probably would occur within 254 00:16:58,320 --> 00:17:01,880 Speaker 1: minutes after getting the fatal leavi page. Where does home 255 00:17:01,960 --> 00:17:05,600 Speaker 1: depot fit into this scenario? So he had actually been spotted. 256 00:17:05,640 --> 00:17:09,960 Speaker 1: Christopher press Stupino had actually been spotted at home Depot 257 00:17:10,400 --> 00:17:14,240 Speaker 1: and he was paying cash for sixty pound bags of cement, 258 00:17:14,760 --> 00:17:19,200 Speaker 1: a fifty pound bag of wine used to mix cement, 259 00:17:19,680 --> 00:17:28,040 Speaker 1: boxes of screws, concrete fence blocks, and WD forty silicone lubricant, 260 00:17:28,400 --> 00:17:32,000 Speaker 1: and ocean missed air freshener. And he was caught on 261 00:17:32,560 --> 00:17:37,960 Speaker 1: video purchasing these things at home depot as she will caught. 262 00:17:38,840 --> 00:17:41,639 Speaker 1: Why is it that after a woman goes missing or 263 00:17:41,720 --> 00:17:45,320 Speaker 1: is murdered, the man suddenly turns into a neat nick 264 00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:49,680 Speaker 1: I'm thinking of Let's just say Scott Peterson, for example, 265 00:17:50,080 --> 00:17:52,679 Speaker 1: after his wife goes missing, he feels a compulsion to 266 00:17:52,720 --> 00:17:57,840 Speaker 1: do the laundry, and it's equal opportunity. After Travis Alexander 267 00:17:58,119 --> 00:18:00,200 Speaker 1: is stabbed twenty eight times, it's shot in the head 268 00:18:00,280 --> 00:18:04,000 Speaker 1: and left to decompose, and his shower Jodi Arius decides 269 00:18:04,080 --> 00:18:08,119 Speaker 1: to change the sheets on the bed and whoops, puts 270 00:18:08,119 --> 00:18:11,920 Speaker 1: her digital camera into the wash, where police later fine 271 00:18:12,119 --> 00:18:15,600 Speaker 1: photos of her leg at the crime scene, the murder scene. 272 00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:21,680 Speaker 1: Why is that the neat nick compulsion after our murderer Ashley. Well, 273 00:18:21,720 --> 00:18:24,120 Speaker 1: fortunately it's a red flag because the other thing I'll 274 00:18:24,119 --> 00:18:27,080 Speaker 1: point out about the specific examples that cases Jody Airis 275 00:18:27,240 --> 00:18:30,640 Speaker 1: is a good example if you will note in the rerecord, 276 00:18:30,760 --> 00:18:33,240 Speaker 1: excuse me, in the photographs of the crime scene or 277 00:18:33,240 --> 00:18:37,159 Speaker 1: the photographs of the home, it's only those particular things 278 00:18:37,240 --> 00:18:40,320 Speaker 1: that they've cleaned so diligently. The rest of the home 279 00:18:40,480 --> 00:18:43,160 Speaker 1: is kind of enshambles. You know, there's stuff everywhere. They're 280 00:18:43,160 --> 00:18:46,359 Speaker 1: not neat, they're not organized, they're not clean. So it 281 00:18:46,520 --> 00:18:48,560 Speaker 1: is a red flag. Take a listen to our friends 282 00:18:48,560 --> 00:18:52,320 Speaker 1: at Loss of Vegas eight. This is Vanessa Murphy Esmeralda Gonzales. 283 00:18:52,600 --> 00:18:55,119 Speaker 1: The twenty four year old woman was reported missing on 284 00:18:55,280 --> 00:18:59,520 Speaker 1: me thirty first. On October eighth, Metro police detective say 285 00:18:59,520 --> 00:19:03,679 Speaker 1: they found her decomposing body in this structure of wood 286 00:19:03,720 --> 00:19:07,320 Speaker 1: and concrete in a desert area north of Las Vegas. 287 00:19:07,800 --> 00:19:11,959 Speaker 1: Grand jury transcripts describe her body wrapped in blankets along 288 00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:15,880 Speaker 1: with rope and straps. Police say they found jewelry belonging 289 00:19:15,920 --> 00:19:20,480 Speaker 1: to Gonzales, including her rolex appraised for nearly forty thousand 290 00:19:20,520 --> 00:19:25,080 Speaker 1: dollars and a Chanel necklace. The iteam also obtained this photo, 291 00:19:25,160 --> 00:19:28,800 Speaker 1: which police say is where it all began, the bedroom 292 00:19:28,840 --> 00:19:32,560 Speaker 1: of forty five year old Christopher Prestopino at his Southwest 293 00:19:32,640 --> 00:19:57,040 Speaker 1: Valley home. Crime stories with Nancy Grace. Grand jury transcripts 294 00:19:57,040 --> 00:20:01,280 Speaker 1: describe her body wrapped in blankets along with rope and straps. 295 00:20:01,760 --> 00:20:05,479 Speaker 1: Police say they found jewelry belonging to Gonzalez, including her 296 00:20:05,600 --> 00:20:10,400 Speaker 1: rolex appraised for nearly forty thousand dollars and a Chanel necklace. 297 00:20:10,600 --> 00:20:13,880 Speaker 1: The IT team also obtained this photo, which police say 298 00:20:14,000 --> 00:20:17,280 Speaker 1: is where it all began, the bedroom of forty five 299 00:20:17,359 --> 00:20:21,919 Speaker 1: year old Christopher Prestopino at his Southwest Valley home. Metro 300 00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:26,440 Speaker 1: Police say Gonzales was a sex worker, and Prestopino hired her. 301 00:20:26,840 --> 00:20:30,000 Speaker 1: Detectives say he gave her meth. He was not aware 302 00:20:30,040 --> 00:20:34,240 Speaker 1: of Gonzalez's mental health issues. He claimed she started acting 303 00:20:34,240 --> 00:20:38,359 Speaker 1: bazaar and speaking in the quote devil's tongue unquote. He 304 00:20:38,520 --> 00:20:41,040 Speaker 1: tied her to a chair she threatened to call the 305 00:20:41,080 --> 00:20:44,680 Speaker 1: cops and punched him, and he strangled her, and then 306 00:20:44,760 --> 00:20:48,760 Speaker 1: he and co defendant Cassandra Garrett injected her with pool 307 00:20:48,800 --> 00:20:52,800 Speaker 1: cleaner before putting her body in this structure with concrete. 308 00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:57,280 Speaker 1: WHOA James Shalnot Metro major case, twenty seven year SWAT 309 00:20:57,280 --> 00:21:01,680 Speaker 1: officer now lawyer? How can you not leave clues behind 310 00:21:01,760 --> 00:21:05,720 Speaker 1: when you are encasing a dead body and cement and 311 00:21:06,200 --> 00:21:09,240 Speaker 1: a wooden structure, and you basically build the whole thing 312 00:21:09,640 --> 00:21:12,840 Speaker 1: from your purchases at home Depot, which you know a 313 00:21:13,040 --> 00:21:16,240 Speaker 1: NASA could learn something from Home Depot and target. Their 314 00:21:16,280 --> 00:21:21,399 Speaker 1: surveillance video is incredible, So he's really building the and 315 00:21:21,440 --> 00:21:24,159 Speaker 1: he's not just building a cement structure, he's building a 316 00:21:24,200 --> 00:21:27,199 Speaker 1: case against himself with his purchases. But how can you 317 00:21:27,280 --> 00:21:31,120 Speaker 1: not leave evidence behind? And how does somebody like this guy, 318 00:21:31,200 --> 00:21:35,800 Speaker 1: Christopher Prespino convince someone else a full grown woman and 319 00:21:35,920 --> 00:21:40,119 Speaker 1: saying of her right mind Cassandra Garrett to help him. 320 00:21:40,680 --> 00:21:46,560 Speaker 1: You know, love is blond and potentially the girlfriend this 321 00:21:47,520 --> 00:21:52,040 Speaker 1: lady thought possibly she had some criminal culpability, very likely 322 00:21:52,240 --> 00:21:55,159 Speaker 1: did in this situation. But you're right, you know, when 323 00:21:55,200 --> 00:21:57,760 Speaker 1: you go somewhere and you commit a crime. Normally, the 324 00:21:57,840 --> 00:21:59,720 Speaker 1: saying is you take something with you and you leave 325 00:21:59,760 --> 00:22:02,600 Speaker 1: something and behind, And in this case, there was a 326 00:22:02,600 --> 00:22:06,160 Speaker 1: footprint of his spending that was left behind as well 327 00:22:06,160 --> 00:22:08,680 Speaker 1: as he left behind something very important at the scene 328 00:22:08,680 --> 00:22:11,880 Speaker 1: of the crime, and that is I mean, I appreciate 329 00:22:11,880 --> 00:22:14,320 Speaker 1: the pregnant pause, but go ahead. Yeah. Well, what he 330 00:22:14,440 --> 00:22:18,280 Speaker 1: left behind was when they ducked her body in the desert, 331 00:22:18,680 --> 00:22:21,240 Speaker 1: he left behind a set of dollys that went to 332 00:22:21,320 --> 00:22:24,240 Speaker 1: a rented U haul truck that he had rented. Leavi Page, 333 00:22:24,640 --> 00:22:26,159 Speaker 1: you know, I hate to say this, but I do 334 00:22:26,200 --> 00:22:27,920 Speaker 1: ask my husband this all the time. What is wrong 335 00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:31,280 Speaker 1: with you? He's now learned to just say everything okay, 336 00:22:31,600 --> 00:22:34,120 Speaker 1: because that kind of cuts off the conversation. What can't 337 00:22:34,119 --> 00:22:37,400 Speaker 1: you say to that? I'm like, oh, okay, well, Leavi Page, 338 00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:40,240 Speaker 1: why didn't you tell me about the dolly he left 339 00:22:40,240 --> 00:22:42,359 Speaker 1: behind for Pete's sake? I mean, the guy rents a 340 00:22:42,520 --> 00:22:44,439 Speaker 1: U haul. Did he even use his own name and 341 00:22:44,480 --> 00:22:47,720 Speaker 1: handed his driver's license? Yes, there were kids that were 342 00:22:47,720 --> 00:22:51,080 Speaker 1: also given to the Las Vegas police about how he 343 00:22:51,080 --> 00:22:54,400 Speaker 1: had rented a U haul. He had asked someone in 344 00:22:54,440 --> 00:22:57,440 Speaker 1: New York to come help him clean up the scene. 345 00:22:57,640 --> 00:23:01,159 Speaker 1: There's calls that he made to people asking for help 346 00:23:01,200 --> 00:23:04,639 Speaker 1: moving a container, so there is a lot of evidence 347 00:23:04,840 --> 00:23:07,959 Speaker 1: against him rolling in, including this rented U all take 348 00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:09,960 Speaker 1: a listen to her friends at Vegas eight. The I 349 00:23:10,119 --> 00:23:14,000 Speaker 1: team has also learned a friend of Prestopino's testified before 350 00:23:14,040 --> 00:23:17,000 Speaker 1: the grand jury. Tricia Oates said he called her to 351 00:23:17,040 --> 00:23:19,040 Speaker 1: his home in the middle of the night in June 352 00:23:19,080 --> 00:23:22,680 Speaker 1: and acted paranoid, but she claimed she couldn't hear him 353 00:23:22,680 --> 00:23:26,119 Speaker 1: well when he described what happened because he was blasting 354 00:23:26,160 --> 00:23:30,000 Speaker 1: the TV and then music. She described at least two 355 00:23:30,080 --> 00:23:33,720 Speaker 1: stops behind a business where she said Prestopino disposed of 356 00:23:33,760 --> 00:23:37,160 Speaker 1: a freezer, and then behind the Paris where she said 357 00:23:37,240 --> 00:23:40,520 Speaker 1: he tried to get a forklift but did not. She said, 358 00:23:40,560 --> 00:23:43,240 Speaker 1: you're supposed to have clearance to be in that area, 359 00:23:43,640 --> 00:23:46,199 Speaker 1: but somehow they were able to enter in a U 360 00:23:46,280 --> 00:23:52,320 Speaker 1: haul without clearance. Ots said Prestopino scared her and she left. Gonzalez, 361 00:23:52,320 --> 00:23:56,280 Speaker 1: who had more than three hundred thousand Instagram followers, listed 362 00:23:56,320 --> 00:24:00,399 Speaker 1: herself as a college grad, real estate investor, and model okay, 363 00:24:00,480 --> 00:24:03,080 Speaker 1: also stripper. I've just got to be transparent about this, 364 00:24:03,480 --> 00:24:06,120 Speaker 1: wasn't she a stripper at some point leave by page. Yes, 365 00:24:06,240 --> 00:24:09,320 Speaker 1: and she had worked in the adult entertainment industry. I mean, 366 00:24:09,359 --> 00:24:12,800 Speaker 1: this is a beautiful young woman with three hundred thousand 367 00:24:12,880 --> 00:24:19,560 Speaker 1: Instagram followers. She's really gorgeous, and you know, speaking of 368 00:24:19,560 --> 00:24:22,800 Speaker 1: her having been a stripper in the past, Ashley Wilcott, 369 00:24:23,240 --> 00:24:26,159 Speaker 1: you know what, would anybody on this panel, including you 370 00:24:26,359 --> 00:24:29,520 Speaker 1: or me, or you too, Jackie Howard, would anybody want 371 00:24:29,560 --> 00:24:33,600 Speaker 1: the worst thing you've ever done on the Nancy Gray 372 00:24:33,640 --> 00:24:36,359 Speaker 1: Show or on the front page of the New York Post, 373 00:24:36,520 --> 00:24:40,240 Speaker 1: Because I wouldn't. So you know, before we all rush 374 00:24:40,359 --> 00:24:43,159 Speaker 1: to judge or ever having been a stripper, you know, 375 00:24:43,320 --> 00:24:44,840 Speaker 1: I'm not going to be the first one to want 376 00:24:44,880 --> 00:24:46,880 Speaker 1: to throw a stone at her. I mean, no one 377 00:24:46,960 --> 00:24:50,159 Speaker 1: deserves the ending that this woman got. Ashley, Well, that's it. 378 00:24:50,320 --> 00:24:53,159 Speaker 1: You take the victim as you find them, and what 379 00:24:53,320 --> 00:24:56,000 Speaker 1: that means is warts and all. It doesn't matter what 380 00:24:56,080 --> 00:24:59,000 Speaker 1: you think about the type of person they are, what 381 00:24:59,119 --> 00:25:01,760 Speaker 1: they do for a Having put all of that aside, 382 00:25:01,840 --> 00:25:04,120 Speaker 1: it has nothing to do with the fact that no 383 00:25:04,200 --> 00:25:09,000 Speaker 1: person should ever, ever, ever go through what she went through. 384 00:25:09,320 --> 00:25:12,199 Speaker 1: No person should be murdered in the way that she 385 00:25:12,320 --> 00:25:16,240 Speaker 1: was murdered. I mean, doctor Tim Gallagher, medical examiner, State 386 00:25:16,280 --> 00:25:19,359 Speaker 1: of Florida, what do you First of all, she was 387 00:25:19,480 --> 00:25:24,760 Speaker 1: beaten horribly. Then she was injected with pool cleaner, doctor Gallagher. 388 00:25:25,240 --> 00:25:28,480 Speaker 1: What would that do to a person to be injected 389 00:25:28,520 --> 00:25:31,879 Speaker 1: with pool cleaner? Actually very little once she start doing 390 00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:36,199 Speaker 1: the autopsy, as far as would it degrade any of 391 00:25:36,240 --> 00:25:39,720 Speaker 1: the organs into hey hey, hey, hey hey, doctor Gallagher, 392 00:25:40,400 --> 00:25:42,040 Speaker 1: you got to get out of your head just a moment. 393 00:25:42,080 --> 00:25:46,040 Speaker 1: I mean, a live victim, what they would suffer. I 394 00:25:46,080 --> 00:25:48,600 Speaker 1: guess it's like being injected with bleach. I mean what 395 00:25:48,800 --> 00:25:52,040 Speaker 1: she went through. Oh, it's absolutely painful as well. I 396 00:25:52,080 --> 00:25:55,040 Speaker 1: mean it does affect the does attack the nervous system, 397 00:25:55,480 --> 00:25:59,919 Speaker 1: and it gives you excruciating pain until of course you're 398 00:26:00,119 --> 00:26:04,280 Speaker 1: lung stop breathing and your heart stops. But it's absolute 399 00:26:04,359 --> 00:26:09,000 Speaker 1: painful and despicable way to go. We also know that, 400 00:26:09,080 --> 00:26:12,840 Speaker 1: according to reports, she was tied up for a long time, 401 00:26:14,040 --> 00:26:17,600 Speaker 1: and I can just how would a medical examiner know 402 00:26:17,760 --> 00:26:19,760 Speaker 1: that by looking at her body. Well, you can look 403 00:26:19,800 --> 00:26:21,880 Speaker 1: at the risk and you could look at the ankles 404 00:26:21,880 --> 00:26:26,119 Speaker 1: and see the impression that the ligature has made around them. Also, 405 00:26:26,880 --> 00:26:28,639 Speaker 1: we don't know what she was tied up with do 406 00:26:28,760 --> 00:26:31,760 Speaker 1: we Sometimes a residue is left behind if they use 407 00:26:31,880 --> 00:26:37,080 Speaker 1: duct tape or certain types of wire will eve an 408 00:26:37,080 --> 00:26:40,600 Speaker 1: impression behind. Even if you look around the neck area, 409 00:26:40,760 --> 00:26:44,880 Speaker 1: you'll see the same thing. Ligature marks around the neck, 410 00:26:45,280 --> 00:26:48,200 Speaker 1: So those stay with you after you die and can 411 00:26:48,280 --> 00:26:51,920 Speaker 1: be easily identified during the autopsy process. Take a listen 412 00:26:51,920 --> 00:26:55,320 Speaker 1: to our friends at News three in Vegas. It's Max Darrow, 413 00:26:55,359 --> 00:26:58,159 Speaker 1: as we're learning more about the alleged crime back in 414 00:26:58,200 --> 00:27:01,800 Speaker 1: May as Maeralda Gonzalez disappeared. Now several months later, detectives 415 00:27:01,840 --> 00:27:04,240 Speaker 1: believe they've found the twenty four year old's body and 416 00:27:04,280 --> 00:27:07,400 Speaker 1: the people responsible for killing her. Metro police took forty 417 00:27:07,400 --> 00:27:10,640 Speaker 1: five year old Christopher Prestopino into custody on October eleventh. 418 00:27:10,840 --> 00:27:14,200 Speaker 1: Police in Wisconsin took thirty nine year old Cassandra Bascones 419 00:27:14,400 --> 00:27:17,359 Speaker 1: under the last name Win, into custody on the eighteenth. 420 00:27:17,520 --> 00:27:20,199 Speaker 1: According to this arrest report, an anonymous tip came in 421 00:27:20,240 --> 00:27:23,680 Speaker 1: about two months after Gonzalez vanished, stating that press Patino 422 00:27:23,760 --> 00:27:26,480 Speaker 1: and a woman named Cassandra had held a woman against 423 00:27:26,520 --> 00:27:29,479 Speaker 1: her will, killed her by injecting her with pool cleaner, 424 00:27:29,720 --> 00:27:32,000 Speaker 1: and later dumped her body in the desert. As the 425 00:27:32,040 --> 00:27:35,840 Speaker 1: investigation unfolded, the detectives interviewed a woman who said Prestopino 426 00:27:35,920 --> 00:27:38,760 Speaker 1: called her over for help one morning. The report reveals 427 00:27:38,760 --> 00:27:41,840 Speaker 1: Prestopino told vat woman he got an unknown woman high 428 00:27:41,840 --> 00:27:45,000 Speaker 1: on meth and after a confrontation, he strangled the girl 429 00:27:45,040 --> 00:27:47,679 Speaker 1: and thought she was dead, but she woke up. The 430 00:27:47,720 --> 00:27:50,919 Speaker 1: woman continued to tell detectives Prestopino had a cement mixer 431 00:27:50,960 --> 00:27:53,359 Speaker 1: and freezer inside of a U haul truck and a 432 00:27:53,359 --> 00:27:56,560 Speaker 1: wooden and concrete structure in his garage. In the report, 433 00:27:56,600 --> 00:27:59,160 Speaker 1: the woman admitst she left with Prestopino in the U haul, 434 00:27:59,320 --> 00:28:01,399 Speaker 1: he got rid of the freezer and when she asked 435 00:28:01,440 --> 00:28:04,119 Speaker 1: him about it, he stated if anyone had gotten inside, 436 00:28:04,359 --> 00:28:07,000 Speaker 1: it would be all bad. Detectives were able to confirm 437 00:28:07,080 --> 00:28:10,040 Speaker 1: that in June, Prestopino purchased five sixty pound bags of 438 00:28:10,080 --> 00:28:13,320 Speaker 1: concrete mix, among other supplies, at a home depot. Then 439 00:28:13,359 --> 00:28:16,280 Speaker 1: on October eighth, police located a body who they believed 440 00:28:16,320 --> 00:28:19,360 Speaker 1: to be gonzalez Is in a concrete and wooden structure 441 00:28:19,400 --> 00:28:22,320 Speaker 1: in a desert area north of Las Vegas. Police also 442 00:28:22,320 --> 00:28:25,480 Speaker 1: took Prestopino as a girlfriend, Lisa Morts into custody, they 443 00:28:25,480 --> 00:28:42,280 Speaker 1: say for harboring, hiding, and helping a felony offender. Crime 444 00:28:42,360 --> 00:28:48,640 Speaker 1: Stories with Nancy Grace. I don't understand the thinking behind 445 00:28:49,200 --> 00:28:52,560 Speaker 1: the two women charged to Levi Page Crime online dot 446 00:28:52,560 --> 00:28:57,080 Speaker 1: Com investigative reporter Cassandra Garrett thirty nine, Lisa thirty one. 447 00:28:57,600 --> 00:29:01,160 Speaker 1: How are they tangled up with this free Christopher A. 448 00:29:01,160 --> 00:29:06,680 Speaker 1: Prestopino So Cassandra Garrett actually was his roommate and Lisa Moore, 449 00:29:06,840 --> 00:29:10,840 Speaker 1: thirty one years old was his girlfriend. Lisa Mort is 450 00:29:10,880 --> 00:29:14,920 Speaker 1: accused of aiding him after the fact, helping him hide 451 00:29:14,960 --> 00:29:19,120 Speaker 1: from authorities. Apparently, once he found out that authorities were 452 00:29:19,160 --> 00:29:22,000 Speaker 1: onto him Nancy, he high teled it to police and 453 00:29:22,040 --> 00:29:25,320 Speaker 1: then when he had returned October eleventh, that's when they 454 00:29:25,480 --> 00:29:30,120 Speaker 1: arrested him. And she is accused of helping him evade 455 00:29:30,320 --> 00:29:35,920 Speaker 1: law enforcement and Garrett. Cassandra Garrett knew what had happened 456 00:29:36,040 --> 00:29:39,960 Speaker 1: all along, and she was talking to people. She was 457 00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:43,320 Speaker 1: talking to her friends. Her friends actually called law enforcement 458 00:29:43,560 --> 00:29:46,520 Speaker 1: and gave a tip and they said Cassandra was talking 459 00:29:46,560 --> 00:29:50,080 Speaker 1: to me. She said that she recognized that young woman 460 00:29:50,080 --> 00:29:52,880 Speaker 1: that was missing and that she may have died in 461 00:29:52,920 --> 00:29:56,880 Speaker 1: a sex fetish game gone wrong, but she didn't tell 462 00:29:57,000 --> 00:30:00,400 Speaker 1: law enforcement that when they first interviewed her, so that's 463 00:30:00,400 --> 00:30:02,400 Speaker 1: how she got mixed up in this stuff. She was 464 00:30:02,480 --> 00:30:07,200 Speaker 1: also helping him evade law enforcement. It's just outrageous. I 465 00:30:07,480 --> 00:30:09,640 Speaker 1: can't believe two grow women in the right mind we 466 00:30:09,760 --> 00:30:14,080 Speaker 1: get involved with Christopher Prestopino when they know that he 467 00:30:14,400 --> 00:30:18,800 Speaker 1: is involved with the brutal torture and murder of this 468 00:30:18,920 --> 00:30:23,720 Speaker 1: young girl, Esmeralda Gonzalez, aged twenty four, and apparently he 469 00:30:23,800 --> 00:30:28,200 Speaker 1: leaves a trail a mile wide, including smiling into the 470 00:30:28,240 --> 00:30:31,480 Speaker 1: camera at home depot when he buys bags and bags 471 00:30:31,480 --> 00:30:34,640 Speaker 1: and bags of cement. Take a listen to our friend 472 00:30:34,720 --> 00:30:37,800 Speaker 1: at eight News. Now, this is Biancaholman. Forty five year 473 00:30:37,840 --> 00:30:41,800 Speaker 1: old Christopher Prestopino was back inside a Las Vegas courtroom Tuesday, 474 00:30:42,080 --> 00:30:46,680 Speaker 1: where a judge set his bail at five hundred thousand dollars. Prestopino, 475 00:30:46,800 --> 00:30:51,080 Speaker 1: along with two accomplices, is accused of injecting twenty six 476 00:30:51,160 --> 00:30:54,360 Speaker 1: year old es Morella Gonzalez with some sort of poisonous 477 00:30:54,400 --> 00:30:58,600 Speaker 1: substance and casing her body in concrete and then dumping 478 00:30:58,600 --> 00:31:02,720 Speaker 1: her in the desert, where police discovered remains. Earlier this month, 479 00:31:02,880 --> 00:31:06,440 Speaker 1: the corner still has not confirmed the body is as Maeralda. 480 00:31:06,600 --> 00:31:09,320 Speaker 1: The young model was reported missing from her home in May. 481 00:31:09,840 --> 00:31:13,520 Speaker 1: She actually lived in a neighborhood near Prestopino. Previously, a 482 00:31:13,600 --> 00:31:17,520 Speaker 1: judge denied Prestopino bail over concerns that he's a flight risk. 483 00:31:17,880 --> 00:31:21,080 Speaker 1: You may recall that when police arrested him on October eleventh, 484 00:31:21,320 --> 00:31:24,040 Speaker 1: they took him into custody at the airport after he 485 00:31:24,080 --> 00:31:26,840 Speaker 1: returned from a trip to Belize. If he is able 486 00:31:26,880 --> 00:31:29,720 Speaker 1: to post bond, he would have to surrender his passport 487 00:31:29,960 --> 00:31:33,240 Speaker 1: and he could qualify for house arrest. Surrender his passport 488 00:31:33,240 --> 00:31:36,760 Speaker 1: and qualify for a house arrest. Are you kidding me? 489 00:31:37,120 --> 00:31:40,880 Speaker 1: I mean he leaves a trail a mile y that 490 00:31:41,000 --> 00:31:44,920 Speaker 1: he has murdered this girl. Then he takes off to Belize. 491 00:31:45,560 --> 00:31:48,960 Speaker 1: But first to dodger Tim Gallagher, why can't they identify 492 00:31:49,080 --> 00:31:52,640 Speaker 1: her body? I don't understand that. Can't they use dental 493 00:31:53,400 --> 00:31:55,840 Speaker 1: X rays? Well more than likely, you know, they're about 494 00:31:55,920 --> 00:31:58,600 Speaker 1: ninety nine point nine percent sure that it is her. 495 00:31:59,080 --> 00:32:04,400 Speaker 1: But without scientifically without a scientifically based identification such as 496 00:32:04,760 --> 00:32:10,000 Speaker 1: dental records or DNA, the medical examiner won't release her 497 00:32:10,040 --> 00:32:15,840 Speaker 1: identity as Okay, so they you're telling me they likely 498 00:32:15,920 --> 00:32:19,240 Speaker 1: know it's her, but they've got to scientifically prove it 499 00:32:19,600 --> 00:32:22,560 Speaker 1: beyond a shadow of a doubt before they release it. Okay, 500 00:32:22,600 --> 00:32:25,200 Speaker 1: that makes sense, as she will call, I don't get 501 00:32:25,200 --> 00:32:28,560 Speaker 1: it why these women were going along with Christopher Prestipino. 502 00:32:28,640 --> 00:32:31,280 Speaker 1: Maybe they were afraid of him. What do you think? 503 00:32:31,480 --> 00:32:35,200 Speaker 1: Fear is absolutely a motivating factor to go along with someone, 504 00:32:35,360 --> 00:32:38,520 Speaker 1: But we also have to remember predators. We talk about 505 00:32:38,520 --> 00:32:43,160 Speaker 1: this a lot on your show. Predators have personality qualities 506 00:32:43,200 --> 00:32:47,200 Speaker 1: that cause them to groom, that caused them to act 507 00:32:47,240 --> 00:32:50,920 Speaker 1: in a way that they manipulate. They seek victims often 508 00:32:51,080 --> 00:32:56,320 Speaker 1: who are are not able to necessarily fight back or 509 00:32:56,360 --> 00:32:59,680 Speaker 1: be strong enough or susceptible to the fear. So they 510 00:33:00,120 --> 00:33:04,120 Speaker 1: use all of these methods to get people that they 511 00:33:04,160 --> 00:33:09,440 Speaker 1: can then victimize. Question to you, James Shellnutt, twenty seven 512 00:33:09,560 --> 00:33:13,960 Speaker 1: years Metro major case swat officer, now lawyer. Do you 513 00:33:14,040 --> 00:33:19,520 Speaker 1: believe the accused Christopher Prestopino planned to murder her from 514 00:33:19,520 --> 00:33:22,520 Speaker 1: the moment she stumbled into his home or do you 515 00:33:22,600 --> 00:33:28,239 Speaker 1: buy into the sex game gone wrong? I think it 516 00:33:28,320 --> 00:33:31,920 Speaker 1: was a sex game gone wrong. No, I don't. There's 517 00:33:31,920 --> 00:33:35,720 Speaker 1: no indication otherwise. Okay, so you think injecting somebody with 518 00:33:35,760 --> 00:33:38,960 Speaker 1: pool cleaner as part of a sex game, gone right? No, 519 00:33:39,120 --> 00:33:41,960 Speaker 1: I don't think that that's it. I think that initially, 520 00:33:42,400 --> 00:33:45,720 Speaker 1: you know, she was probably or possibly over there voluntarily. 521 00:33:46,920 --> 00:33:50,680 Speaker 1: But do I think that possibly some drugs clouded judgment 522 00:33:51,600 --> 00:33:56,240 Speaker 1: and created the type of situation that became fatal to her. Yes, possibly, 523 00:33:56,600 --> 00:33:58,480 Speaker 1: not justifying what the guy did. I'd love to be 524 00:33:58,480 --> 00:34:00,720 Speaker 1: the one to put the fair handcuffs on him, but 525 00:34:00,880 --> 00:34:03,280 Speaker 1: I'm not so sure that this is something that was 526 00:34:03,680 --> 00:34:07,719 Speaker 1: that was meditated on and planned out before she got there. Well, 527 00:34:07,800 --> 00:34:11,360 Speaker 1: let me just remind everybody that premeditation can be formed 528 00:34:11,480 --> 00:34:14,880 Speaker 1: in the blink of an eye, from the time it 529 00:34:14,880 --> 00:34:17,000 Speaker 1: takes you to raise a gun and pull the trigger. 530 00:34:17,400 --> 00:34:20,759 Speaker 1: Premeditation does not require a long thought out plan, such 531 00:34:20,760 --> 00:34:24,520 Speaker 1: as murdering someone by poisoning over a period of weeks 532 00:34:24,520 --> 00:34:27,920 Speaker 1: and months, or some scheme like murder for hire or 533 00:34:28,080 --> 00:34:32,680 Speaker 1: hit man. Premeditation under the law intend to kill can 534 00:34:32,719 --> 00:34:36,279 Speaker 1: be formed almost immediately, So whether you plan it for 535 00:34:36,320 --> 00:34:41,640 Speaker 1: a week, a month, or a minute doesn't matter under 536 00:34:41,719 --> 00:34:45,200 Speaker 1: the law. And I really do not see Ashley Wilcot 537 00:34:45,600 --> 00:34:48,759 Speaker 1: how this is a sex game gone wrong. In my mind, 538 00:34:48,840 --> 00:34:51,799 Speaker 1: that's a way to slur the victim. I don't think 539 00:34:51,840 --> 00:34:54,839 Speaker 1: you end up shooting somebody up with pool cleaner as 540 00:34:54,920 --> 00:34:58,520 Speaker 1: part of a sex game. Sorry, shell Night, I don't 541 00:34:58,560 --> 00:35:01,160 Speaker 1: know what kind of sex games you're playing, James shell 542 00:35:01,280 --> 00:35:05,680 Speaker 1: nutt with your partners slash partners. But pool cleaner injections, 543 00:35:05,719 --> 00:35:08,600 Speaker 1: I hope are not one of them. Okay, cut his 544 00:35:08,719 --> 00:35:14,279 Speaker 1: mic before he can. If I can clarify for just right, 545 00:35:14,440 --> 00:35:17,720 Speaker 1: clean up your mass, shell Nut clean it up. Yeah, 546 00:35:17,760 --> 00:35:20,799 Speaker 1: I'm not indicating that there's not preedo meditation for the 547 00:35:20,880 --> 00:35:23,200 Speaker 1: charge of murder. I guess the point I was trying 548 00:35:23,239 --> 00:35:25,920 Speaker 1: to make, and probably didn't do a good job at it, 549 00:35:26,000 --> 00:35:28,120 Speaker 1: is that I'm not so sure that when she went 550 00:35:28,239 --> 00:35:31,719 Speaker 1: there that that was the intent. That you know, he 551 00:35:31,760 --> 00:35:35,680 Speaker 1: invited her over to murder her. She did not get 552 00:35:35,760 --> 00:35:40,480 Speaker 1: invited over. Everyone agrees. She couldn't even walk straight. She's schizophrenic, 553 00:35:40,520 --> 00:35:43,880 Speaker 1: she's bipolar. She stumbles to a home she's seen before, 554 00:35:44,280 --> 00:35:48,400 Speaker 1: and bam, this happens. You think what he invited her 555 00:35:48,400 --> 00:35:51,000 Speaker 1: over for the candle light dinner? When you quit saying 556 00:35:51,080 --> 00:35:53,360 Speaker 1: she'd been over there before, she'd been over there before, 557 00:35:53,560 --> 00:35:55,720 Speaker 1: and I'm talking about her state of mind, talking about 558 00:35:55,760 --> 00:35:58,320 Speaker 1: his state of mind. She stumbles in in Lagree and 559 00:35:58,400 --> 00:36:02,760 Speaker 1: high hills and bam, she's injected with pool. Agree. I agree, 560 00:36:02,840 --> 00:36:04,919 Speaker 1: there's a great murder case there. If there's a murder 561 00:36:05,000 --> 00:36:08,120 Speaker 1: charge there, that's the appropriate charge. You know what you 562 00:36:08,160 --> 00:36:10,200 Speaker 1: remind me of And I hadn't thought about this in 563 00:36:10,280 --> 00:36:13,400 Speaker 1: a long time, James Shelna As you know, my dad, 564 00:36:13,680 --> 00:36:18,080 Speaker 1: Mac Walter Malcolm Grace Singer, was a freight agent for 565 00:36:18,160 --> 00:36:20,600 Speaker 1: the railroad. Okay, my mom at the time was a 566 00:36:20,680 --> 00:36:23,160 Speaker 1: bank teller. She rose up to be a CFO of 567 00:36:23,200 --> 00:36:24,919 Speaker 1: the company, but at the time she was a bank 568 00:36:25,000 --> 00:36:27,600 Speaker 1: teller and they were broke with three children. So what 569 00:36:27,640 --> 00:36:30,200 Speaker 1: did my dad do. Go into the pig business with 570 00:36:30,239 --> 00:36:33,640 Speaker 1: my uncle, my mom's brother. So every day when he 571 00:36:33,640 --> 00:36:36,520 Speaker 1: would get home from work, he could go out and 572 00:36:36,600 --> 00:36:40,080 Speaker 1: start chasing pigs out in the field. You know, they're 573 00:36:40,120 --> 00:36:43,120 Speaker 1: really hard to catch. That's what it's like trying to 574 00:36:43,160 --> 00:36:47,040 Speaker 1: pin you down on an answer. Now, Judge, ashe will Cott, 575 00:36:47,560 --> 00:36:51,640 Speaker 1: please explain, this is not some sex game gone wrong. 576 00:36:51,719 --> 00:36:54,920 Speaker 1: Why do men always say it's a sex game gone wrong? 577 00:36:55,040 --> 00:37:00,160 Speaker 1: And that's the you know, always, they always, always, he 578 00:37:00,520 --> 00:37:03,440 Speaker 1: planned this injection with pool cleaner is not part of 579 00:37:03,440 --> 00:37:06,000 Speaker 1: a game gone wrong. I agree, you know, I think 580 00:37:06,000 --> 00:37:08,200 Speaker 1: he planned it. It It is premeditated, like you said, the 581 00:37:08,239 --> 00:37:10,160 Speaker 1: blink of an eye. The worst part of this. It 582 00:37:10,239 --> 00:37:12,640 Speaker 1: was a crime of opportunity. It was not someone he 583 00:37:12,719 --> 00:37:15,200 Speaker 1: knew before. We've already established that she wandered up to 584 00:37:15,239 --> 00:37:18,200 Speaker 1: the door, she had all these issues. Again, most people 585 00:37:18,280 --> 00:37:21,640 Speaker 1: would either call an ambulance, call the police, do something 586 00:37:21,680 --> 00:37:25,560 Speaker 1: to assist her. Rather, he took the opportunity of this 587 00:37:25,800 --> 00:37:28,200 Speaker 1: victim as he found him at the door, to plan 588 00:37:28,360 --> 00:37:33,200 Speaker 1: and execute a murder. He may have been forcing her 589 00:37:33,239 --> 00:37:36,080 Speaker 1: into some type of in his minus sex game. I 590 00:37:36,520 --> 00:37:40,840 Speaker 1: call it rape, but it's my belief, Leavi Pace. She 591 00:37:40,960 --> 00:37:43,800 Speaker 1: threatened to go to police, and that's when he injected 592 00:37:43,840 --> 00:37:47,279 Speaker 1: her with pool cleaner. Levi, You're absolutely correct, Nancy, And 593 00:37:47,320 --> 00:37:52,160 Speaker 1: where this sex game talk comes from is from Cassandra Garrett, 594 00:37:52,280 --> 00:37:58,160 Speaker 1: the roommate. However, the district attorney that's prosecuting this case, 595 00:37:58,239 --> 00:38:02,239 Speaker 1: Pamela Weckerley, said an open court that she does not 596 00:38:02,360 --> 00:38:06,799 Speaker 1: believe that she had a relationship with Prespotino before she 597 00:38:06,880 --> 00:38:11,040 Speaker 1: got to his house, that she stumbled onto his property 598 00:38:11,040 --> 00:38:13,680 Speaker 1: and that he took advantage of that. This sex game 599 00:38:13,760 --> 00:38:16,600 Speaker 1: stuff is just coming from one of his co defendant. 600 00:38:16,719 --> 00:38:22,560 Speaker 1: Another issue, Prestopino's girlfriend Lisa Moore and roommate Cassandra Garrett 601 00:38:22,600 --> 00:38:28,280 Speaker 1: also charged. What do you think is going to happen, Ashley, 602 00:38:28,560 --> 00:38:31,120 Speaker 1: judge and trial lawyer? You think they'll cut a deal 603 00:38:31,160 --> 00:38:34,160 Speaker 1: and testify a trial, because I do too, absolutely, because 604 00:38:34,160 --> 00:38:37,000 Speaker 1: there's an incentive to do that. There's no reason not 605 00:38:37,080 --> 00:38:39,480 Speaker 1: to testify against him, especially if it's going to be 606 00:38:39,520 --> 00:38:42,000 Speaker 1: advantageous and they're going to get a better deal. Well, 607 00:38:42,440 --> 00:38:45,040 Speaker 1: I would like to see them all go to trial 608 00:38:45,160 --> 00:38:48,640 Speaker 1: and stew in the same pot together. And the only 609 00:38:48,640 --> 00:38:50,680 Speaker 1: way the state could do that under the law is 610 00:38:50,719 --> 00:38:54,719 Speaker 1: to not allow any of their statements in where they 611 00:38:54,719 --> 00:38:59,440 Speaker 1: incriminate each other. Why, because of the sixth Amendment rights confrontation, 612 00:38:59,480 --> 00:39:02,280 Speaker 1: you have a right cross examine your witness the witness 613 00:39:02,280 --> 00:39:05,120 Speaker 1: against you. So let's just say you try all three 614 00:39:05,160 --> 00:39:08,920 Speaker 1: together and Lisa Mort jumps up in. Lisa Mort has 615 00:39:08,920 --> 00:39:12,400 Speaker 1: given a statement where she blames Prescipino. Well, if she 616 00:39:12,480 --> 00:39:16,240 Speaker 1: doesn't take the stand under the fifth Prestipino cannot cross 617 00:39:16,239 --> 00:39:19,840 Speaker 1: examine her. So The answer to that is either several 618 00:39:19,800 --> 00:39:22,440 Speaker 1: of the cases and try them separately and bring in 619 00:39:22,480 --> 00:39:26,080 Speaker 1: their statements, or try them all together at once and 620 00:39:26,160 --> 00:39:29,960 Speaker 1: leave out their statements. I advise try them each one 621 00:39:30,320 --> 00:39:32,799 Speaker 1: separately and let the chips fall where they may. Let 622 00:39:32,840 --> 00:39:35,719 Speaker 1: them all get murder one. They will have plenty of 623 00:39:35,719 --> 00:39:39,120 Speaker 1: time to think about this behind bars, and maybe they'll 624 00:39:39,160 --> 00:39:41,920 Speaker 1: get a chance to clean a pool every once in 625 00:39:41,920 --> 00:39:46,840 Speaker 1: a while. We wait as justice unfolds. Nancy Grace Crime Story, 626 00:39:46,880 --> 00:39:48,640 Speaker 1: signing off, goodbye friend,