Naman Shrestha
In the episode titled ‘Sin City Secret’ of Investigation Discovery’s ‘How Not To Get Rid Of A Body,’ the viewers are provided with a detailed account of the disappearance and horrific murder of influencer Esmeralda Gonzalez. After several months of investigation, her remains turned up in an unconventional and unsettling manner. With the detectives closing in on the suspects, the victim’s loved ones hope to get justice for her. The episode also features insightful interviews with Esmeralda’s family and friends, who talk about the aftermath of her unfortunate demise in 2019.
Esmeralda Gonzalez Went Missing Before Her Remains Were Found in the Middle of Nowhere
Esmeralda Gonzalez was an ambitious and determined woman from her early days, and her competitive spirit was unmatched. Whether it was the beauty pageants or chess competitions, she participated and excelled at them. Born in 1995, she was brought up in the historic Westside neighborhood of Las Vegas, along with her loving brother, Juan Gonzalez Madera. As she grew up in the day and age of social media, she made the most of the platform and became an influencer. With her entire life ahead of her, Esmeralda had a bright future waiting for her.
In 2019, Esmeralda was battling mental health issues, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. So, when her brother, Juan, visited her residence to check up on her on May 31, she was not present anywhere on the property. However, what he found suspicious was the unlocked door, her car parked in the driveway, and her belongings still inside the house. Concerned for the well-being and whereabouts of her sister, he informed the police about the situation.
When the police arrived at the residence of the missing woman, they found it quite messy, which was a sign that she wasn’t taking her medications for her mental health problems. After several months of investigation, law enforcement got a clue that led them to the desert outside Glendale, Nevada, on October 8, 2019. A body was found inside a 250-gallon water tank and later identified as Esmeralda Gonzalez. Despite examination of her body, the cause of her death remained undetermined.
A Few Suspects Emerged While Investigating the Disappearance of Esmeralda Gonzalez
When Esmeralda Gonzalez was reported missing, the police scanned the entire neighborhood where she resided and interviewed neighbors and potential witnesses to get leads on the case. Thanks to the security footage of her neighbors, they learned that before she went missing, she was wearing lingerie and high heels and seemed mentally distraught in the early morning hours of May 31, 2019. Upon finding out that she and her boyfriend, Matthew Mosey, were going through a rough patch in their relationship, the detectives suspected him to be involved in the disappearance. But when no concrete evidence connected him to the crime, he was cleared as a suspect.
Another suspect emerged when a local BMW dealer informed the police that Esmeralda had visited the store to get a key for her car with a man. It turned out to be one of the neighbors who had just driven her to the dealership. Thanks to these tips, the investigators now knew that she went to the BMW dealership on the afternoon of May 30, and several hours later, in the early hours of May 31, she was outside in the neighborhood, looking lost. Less than two months later, on July 18, 2019, the police received a tip that Christopher Prestipino and his roommate Casandra Garrett were involved in the murder of a woman.
The tipster claimed that the pair had injected the victim with a pool cleaner and drove her body out in the desert in a U-Haul truck. Upon digging deeper into Christopher, they learned that he had a few run-ins with the law over drug use. Moreover, the dots connected further when they discovered that he had rented a U-Haul truck in early June and that he resided on the same street as Esmeralda Gonzalez. There was yet another significant break in the case when a tipster told the authorities to interview a woman named Tricia Ott regarding the case. Tricia claimed that Christopher had called her to his house, where she saw Casandra busy cleaning up the garage. She also noticed a U-Haul and a big wooden box in the garage.
Three Individuals Were Involved in the Death of Esmeralda Gonzalez
While there, Christopher told Tricia about a woman who freaked him out, so much so that he had to tie her up. Acting all paranoid, he also thought he had killed her, according to Tricia. Closing in on him, the detectives also dug deeper into the whereabouts of Christopher around the time of Esmeralda’s disappearance. Thanks to the surveillance footage, the police learned that he visited Home Depot, where he purchased supplies like lime, wood, concrete, screws, and other building materials. Meanwhile, his cellphone records placed him in the desert for several hours on June 8, 2019.
Upon confronting the suspect’s girlfriend, Lisa Mort, who was held up in a detention center for unrelated charges, she claimed that she had no knowledge about the crime. Next, they traveled to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and interrogated Casandra who also claimed innocence and denied being in the garage. After gathering enough evidence against Christopher, on September 20, 2019, the police obtained warrants to search his property and question him. The authorities hit a dead end when his property was devoid of any evidence, and he claimed that he had never seen the victim before.
Determined to solve the case, the detectives offered a deal to Casandra, who agreed to their terms and led them to the desert where Christopher had hidden the body. On October 8, after several hours of searching the Vegas desert, Esmeralda’s body was found inside a large wooden crate. In the same month, he was arrested and indicted for kidnapping, murder, and conspiracy. Casandra and Lisa were also reportedly charged for their respective roles in the murder of the influencer.
While Christopher Prestipino and Casandra Garrett Are in Prison, Lisa Mort is Now a Free Woman
In March 2023, Christopher Prestipino pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder and the first-degree kidnapping charges related to the death of Esmeralda Gonzalez. The following month, he was sentenced to at least ten years in prison for the murder charge and at least five years for the kidnapping charge. At the hearing, the victim’s brother, Juan Gonzalez Madera, addressed the court, “It pains me to know that she will never have the opportunity to go to law school and protect the rights of others. Learning that my sister was deceased deeply bruised my heart, but learning how she died shattered my heart forever.” Currently, he is incarcerated at High Desert State Prison in Susanville, California.
Avoiding trial, Lisa Mort also pleaded guilty to accessory to murder and received an imprisonment sentence of at least two years. As of now, she has been released from prison and is leading a private life. As for Casandra Garrett, she took a guilty plea to voluntary manslaughter with a deadly weapon. Given her direct involvement in the murder, she was sentenced to two decades in prison with the possibility of parole after eight years. At present, she is serving her sentence at the Florence McClure Women’s Correctional Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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