LIVERMORE, Calif. (AP) — A man and woman arrested in the fatal stabbing of a 19-year-old woman found by a motorist along a California road were friends of the victim, an official said Tuesday.
Lizette Cuesta of Tracy identified the suspects before dying Monday at a hospital, Alameda County sheriff's Sgt. Ray Kelly said.
Cuesta willingly got in the car of Daniel Gross, 19, and his girlfriend, Melissa Leonardo, 25, both of Modesto, before she was beaten and stabbed, Kelly said.
Kelly said he couldn't discuss a motive in the killing because the investigation was ongoing.
Motorist Richard Loadholt and a friend found Cuesta soaked in blood, fighting for her life and dragging herself along the side of a road in Livermore.
They gave her a blanket and Loadholt said he prayed with Cuesta and kept her awake and talking until help arrived.
"I hope it will be encouraging to her family to know that their daughter did have that spirit to fight," Loadholt said.
Kelly said Cuesta had been out in freezing weather for several hours before she was found.
"The fact that Lizette was so strong and able to survive was really a testament to her character as a person," Kelly said.