Murder of Michelle Le

Michelle Hoang Thi Le (October 12, 1984 - May 27, 2011) was a 26-year-old American nursing student who disappeared on May 27, 2011, from the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in the San Francisco Bay Area city of Hayward, California.

Michelle Le
Born(1984-10-12)October 12, 1984
San Diego, California, U.S.
DiedMay 27, 2011(2011-05-27) (aged 26)
Hayward, California, U.S.
Body discoveredSeptember 17, 2011
Giselle Esteban
Born
Giselle Diwag Esteban

(1984-02-04) February 4, 1984
Union City, California, U.S.
Criminal statusIncarcerated
Conviction(s)First degree murder
Criminal penalty25 years to life in prison

Biography

Michelle grew up in the Rancho Peñasquitos neighborhood of San Diego with her younger brother, Michael. She graduated from Mt. Carmel High School in 2002. Le attended San Francisco State University and later moved to the San Francisco Bay Area for nursing school at Samuel Merritt University in Oakland, California.[1]

Investigation

On May 27, 2011 Le's white Honda SUV was found the morning after her disappearance around 9am parked on Ponderosa Court, about half a mile from the medical center.

Her family put up billboards and offered a reward for information about her whereabouts.[1] Over the next four months, at least eight volunteer search efforts were undertaken, some organized by the Klaas Kids Foundation.[2]

A variety of missing persons organizations joined in the searches. The eighth search found decomposed human remains in a remote canyon area on September 17.[3] On September 19, 2011, the Alameda County coroner's office positively identified the remains to be those of Michelle Le.[4]

Police suspected from the beginning that Le had been killed by someone she knew.[1] Giselle Diwag Esteban (born February 4, 1984) of Union City, California, a former friend of Le, was arrested on September 7 and charged with her murder, although a body had not yet been found at that time. Authorities said there was enough DNA evidence in the form of blood stains found in Le's car and on Esteban's shoe, and that security video footage confirmed Esteban's presence in the area at the time Le disappeared.[5] Esteban allegedly blamed Le for ruining her relationship with her ex-boyfriend, with whom she had a child, but denied any involvement in Le's disappearance. Esteban was indicted on a murder charge December 14, 2011.[6]

Trial

Esteban entered a not guilty plea. [7] A trial date was set for September 17, 2012.[8] On October 29, 2012, a jury convicted Esteban of first-degree murder. At the December 10 sentencing, Esteban was given 25 years to life in prison.[9][10] At the time of Le's murder, Esteban was pregnant. Esteban gave birth in prison and the child is in the custody of the father.

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References
  1. "Family keeps hope for missing California student", UPI, June 20, 2011.
  2. "Volunteers search Niles Canyon for Michelle Le", ABCLocal, June 18, 2011.
  3. Lee, Henry K. (September 18, 2011). "Michelle Le search turns up body in Sunol Canyon". San Francisco Chronicle. p. A14. Retrieved September 20, 2011.
  4. Dolak, Kevin; McLaughlin, Erin (September 20, 2011). "Michelle Le Case: Missing Nursing Student's Body Identified". ABC News. Retrieved September 20, 2011.
  5. Kurhi, Eric (September 14, 2011). "DNA evidence, surveillance footage led to arrest in Michelle Le case". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved September 19, 2011.
  6. Kurhi, Eric, "Grand jury transcripts show slain Michelle Le was subject of suspect's growing hatred", Hayward Daily Review, published by San Diego Mercury News, December 31, 2011.
  7. Kurhi, Eric, "Esteban pleads not guilty to slaying of nursing student Michelle Le", Hayward Daily Review, published by San Diego Mercury News, January 20, 2012.
  8. "Trial Date Set In Michelle Le Murder Case", CBS San Francisco, February 17, 2012.
  9. Lee, Henry K. (October 29, 2012). "Woman convicted of stalking murder". San Francisco Chronicle.
  10. Lee, Henry K. (December 10, 2012). "Jelaous woman gets life for killing friend". The San Francisco Chronicle.
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