Christopher Prestipino
Lisa Mort
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A man accused of kidnapping and killing a woman, encasing her body in concrete and abandoning it in the desert, is a flight risk, Las Vegas Justice Court Judge Jeannie Hua said today before she revoked his bail.
Christopher Santo Prestipino, 45, was arrested Friday after officers discovered the woman’s body Tuesday in a concrete and wood structure in the desert north of Las Vegas, police said. The victim, who has not been publicly identified, was reported missing in May.
On Saturday, another judge set bail for Prestipino at $100,000 with the condition that he wear an electronic monitoring device, court records show.
But Prestipino failed to make bail and appeared this morning in Hua’s downtown Las Vegas courtroom shackled and in jail clothing. He is being held on counts of murder, kidnapping and conspiracy to commit murder, jail logs show.
Clark County prosecutors filed a motion to increase his bail, but Hua revoked it until at least Wednesday, when Prestipino is scheduled for another court appearance. She said the court had learned of “new facts and allegations” in the case.
Hua said she reviewed recordings of phone calls Prestipino made from the Clark County Detention Center after his arrest, but she didn’t disclose the content of the calls.
Lisa Mort, 31, who was arrested in late August in connection with the slaying and booked on a count of harboring, concealing or aiding a felony offender, appeared in a separate courtroom this morning.
She was ordered released from jail with electronic monitoring and barred from contacting Prestipino, court logs show.
Police have released few details about the slaying, and an arrest report detailing the allegations has not yet been made public. The victim was reported missing May 30 from a southwest valley neighborhood.
A break in the case occurred July 18, when detectives investigating the missing person’s report received an anonymous tip alleging that Prestipino was involved in the disappearance, police said. The victim had been held in Prestipino’s house against her will and was subsequently slain, police said.