Tesla Homicide Suspect Pleads Guilty, 1 Pleads Not Guilty: Report

DUBLIN, CA — A Modesto couple accused of murder in the stabbing death of Lizette Cuesta appeared in court in Dublin Thursday morning for pretrial hearings. Daniel Gross, 19, and Melissa Jill Leonardo, 25, are accused of killing the 19-year-old Tracy woman who made national headlines in February because investigators say she crawled on her stomach at least 100 yards along a dark, desolate road to get help.

In an unusual move, Gross insisted on entering guilty plea while Leonardo, his pregnant fiancee and co-defendant, pleaded not guilty, according to KTVU reporter Henry Lee. The question of whether Gross' plea will be to first-degree murder or second-degree murder will be determined at his sentencing hearing, which will be scheduled when he returns to court on June 11. The state prison term for a first-degree conviction is 25 years to life and the term for a second-degree conviction is 15 years to life.

He allegedly confessed to stabbing Cuesta more than two dozen times during the attack, according to a KTVU report. Leonardo will return to court on July 19 for a pretrial hearing. Both are being held without bail at the Santa Rita Jail.

Gross' attorney, Alameda County Assistant Public Defender Eric Mirzaian, said in a statement, "From the very beginning of this case, Daniel has demonstrated that he is committed to accepting responsibility for his
friend's death." Mirzaian said, "He proved that when he confessed to the police, he proved it when he confessed to the media and he has proven it today by entering a guilty plea to these charges."

Mirzaian said, "It is Daniel's hope that his decision today to accept responsibility and not drag out the court proceedings for years, will bring some measure of peace and closure to Ms. Cuesta's family and loved
ones."

Cuesta was found around 2 a.m. on Feb. 12 on Tesla Road about two miles west of the Carnegie State Vehicular Recreation Area by UPS employee Richard Loadholt, who was on his way to work. Before she died, Cuesta was able to give what Alameda County Sheriff's Sgt. Ray Kelly described as "a very compelling dying declaration" about who stabbed her.

Cuesta repeated the names of the alleged attackers multiple times to her rescuers, according to a KCRA report. She was airlifted to Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, where she was pronounced dead at 4:30 a.m. Cuesta's information led the investigators to arrest Gross and Leonardo at a home in Modesto later that day.

Cuesta was an avid skateboarder who graduated from Silver Creek High in San Jose in 2016 and attended San Jose City College, according to her Facebook page. A GoFundMe fundraising campaign launched on Feb. 13 has garnered more than $23,000 in donations so far. Friends who gathered during a candlelight vigil held at Great Oaks Park in San Jose the night after she died told ABC7 they will remember Cuesta being "bubbly" and "genuine." A second vigil was held on Feb. 17 in Tracy. Her funeral was held on Feb. 27.

During a jailhouse interview two days after his arrest, Gross told a KTVU reporter that he and Cuesta were co-workers, friends and had a consensual sexual relationship with each other. Although Gross was not specific about where they were during the alleged attack, he did claim he was in the backseat of a car with Cuesta earlier while his girlfriend, Leonardo, drove.

Gross told KTVU he was not mad at Cuesta upon learning that she identified him and Leonardo as suspects and claims Leonardo had nothing to do with the killing for which they are both accused. The charging document filed by the Alameda County District Attorney's Office alleges that Gross was the person who fatally stabbed Cuesta. Read the full KTVU story here.

Previous coverage:

• Tesla Road Stabbing Victim Crawled On Stomach For Help: ACSO
• Woman Killed In Tesla Road Stabbing Remembered As 'Bubbly'
• Pair Arraigned For Fatal Stabbing Of Woman Found In Livermore
• Man Accused In Fatal Tesla Stabbing Claims Self-Defense
• Mother Of Man Accused In Tesla Road Stabbing Blames Girlfriend

Photo of Daniel Gross, 19, and Melissa Jill Leonardo, 25, courtesy Alameda County Sheriff's Office

Bay City News contributed to this report