Victim IDs 2 suspects before dying

Two teens were arrested Monday on suspicion of fatally stabbing a teenage woman multiple times and leaving her for dead just outside of Livermore in the early morning hours, authorities said.

Dispatchers received a 911 call about 2 a.m. about a woman missing an arm and lying in the middle of Tesla Road, about 2 miles west of Carnegie Park, said Sgt. Ray Kelly of the Alameda County Sheriff ’s Office.

The victim, a 19-yearold woman from Tracy, was not missing an arm, but she was pronounced dead shortly after being airlifted to Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, Kelly said.

A man and woman,

“Her internal fortitude, to stay alive and to fight, is pretty remarkable.” Sgt. Ray Kelly, Alameda County Sheriff ’s Office

both 19, were arrested in Modesto after the victim gave officers a “compelling account” of who was responsible for her death, Kelly said.

“I’ve been around a long time, and I can only think of two to three times that I’m aware of in our agency that we’ve been able to get a dying declaration like that,” Kelly said. “A dying declaration is a very compelling piece of evidence that’s recognized in the court to be very credible and reliable information.”

Authorities said the victim crawled nearly 100 yards along the roadway before being discovered by a passing motorist.

“There was a rumor she had no arm (and) that’s not true,” Kelly said. “We know that she was crawling out to the roadway to get help — (that) is what we suspect.”

Preliminary investigations reveal that the woman was stabbed, dumped out of a car and left for dead, Kelly said. In addition to stab wounds, the woman had other injuries that were not specified.

“Her internal fortitude, to stay alive and to fight, is pretty remarkable,” Kelly said. “This young woman clung to life when she was left for dead and was able to live for another couple hours and get us that information. Ultimately that led us to these arrests.”

The suspects, who were not identified, were found at a residence in Modesto and arrested by deputies from the Alameda County Sheriff ’s Office with help from the Modesto Police Department and Stanislaus County Sheriff ’s Department.

A motive for the killing is under investigation, and the suspects were to be transported back to Alameda County to be booked into jail, Kelly said. Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@ sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani