Stabbing victim praised for her courage
Lizette Cuesta inherited her strength and bravery from her father, family members said. She was a fighter just like her dad, who served in the military.
She was stubborn and she didn’t give up.
And those qualities might be the reason her alleged killers are brought to justice.
In the middle of the night Monday, Cuesta was found on the side of a rural road just outside of Livermore. She had been stabbed multiple times and left for dead, according to the Alameda County Sheriff ’s Office.
Before a passing motorist spotted her and called 911, authorities said, Cuesta had crawled nearly 100 yards along the roadway in search of help.
She was airlifted to Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, where authorities say she was able to identify her assailants before succumbing to her injuries.
“She wasn’t ready to go. She was really, really fighting for her life,” said Jesus Lopez, Cuesta’s cousin. “She was trying to survive.”
As she took her final breaths, authorities said, Cuesta found the strength to tell detectives who her killers were: her friends.
“When I heard she was dead, honestly my heart just dropped. I just blacked out,” said Lopez, 30, of Stockton.
Daniel Gross, 19, and Melissa Leonardo, 25, were arrested hours later in Modesto and transferred to Santa Rita Jail in Dublin. Both are being held without bail and made their first court appearances on murder charges Wednesday.
Cuesta and the suspects were friends, and she got into their car on the eve of her death voluntarily, said Alameda County sheriff’s Sgt. Ray Kelly. The three reportedly worked together at a Carl’s Jr. restaurant in Tracy.
The motive for the stabbing is under investigation.
Cuesta is the oldest of three children and lived with her father, Reyes, in Tracy. She graduated in 2016 from Silver Creek High School in San Jose. She was curious and loved to read books about history and religion, Lopez said.
“What’s striking us the most is the way she died, the way she suffered,” he said. “And her bravery of trying to hold on and stay alive.”