A man charged with murder of a Las Vegas porn star by injecting her with muriatic acid, will undergo a competency evaluation before his trial set for next year.
Christopher Prestipino, 46, is accused of killing Esmeralda Gonzalez, 24, in May 2019, although her body was not found until early October of the same year. Her body was found encased in a “concrete and wood structure,” in a desert area north of Las Vegas, according to reports.
Gonzalez was initially reported missing in May 2019 and was last seen by her neighbors who reported seeing her wandering around her neighborhood in high heels and lingerie the day before her death.
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Gonzalez worked in the adult entertainment industry and suffered from mental illness.
In the predawn hours of May 31, she was caught on a surveillance camera trying to open the door to a home.
“The occupants awoke and advised Esmeralda she was at the wrong house. Esmeralda’s gait was unsteady and she appeared disoriented,” said court documents obtained by the Review-Journal.
It’s believed she then stumbled to Prestipino’s home.
In late July, police received a tip that Prestipino might have killed Gonzalez.
Awitness told the police that Gonzalez was at Prestipino’s house, where he got her high on methamphetamines and left her tied up to a bed post for an extended period of time. He then allegedly attempted to strangle her and injected her with a swimming pool chemical.
Nearly a week after Gonzalez went missing, police said that Prestipino visited a Home Depot store for supplies, which included five 60-pound bags of concrete mix, 10, 96-inch 2×4 studs and other materials.
The Review Journal reported that Prestipino called a friend in early June for help moving a wooden box full of concrete into a U-Haul truck which he then allegedly dumped in the desert.
On October 8, authorities located Gonzalez’s body encased in the wooden and concrete structure, but did not say how or exactly where the body was found. At some point Prestipino went to Belize, but when he returned to Las Vegas on October 11, he was arrested.
Prestipino faces charges of murder, first-degree kidnapping resulting in substantial bodily harm and conspiracy to commit murder.
Two other suspects were also arrested in connection with the murder. Prestipino’s roommate, Cassandra Garrett, 40, is believed to have participated in the killing and disposal of the body. She faces charges of murder, kidnapping and conspiracy. Pestipino’s 31-year-old girlfriend, Lisa Mort, is also an alleged co-conspirator, and faces a charge of harboring, concealing or aiding a felon.
On September 29, 2020, Prestipino’s lawyers requested a competency hearing because he indicated he was hearing voices and could not remember normal situations while locked down at the Clark County Detention Center.
Prosecutors did not object to having his competency checked. As a result, two doctors will evaluate him and present their findings to a judge. If he is found incompetent, he will be sent to a maximum security psychiatric facility until doctors say that he is fit to stand trial.
Gonzalez was originally from Michoacan, Mexico, and graduated from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, according to her Facebook profile.
One of her last posts read “A life without dreaming is a life without meaning.”
