Leslie Moreno is sentenced for manslaughter
By Terry Murry on Thursday, August 12th, 2021 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
WALLA WALLA – A Waitsburg woman found guilty of fatally stabbing her boyfriend on Dec. 28, 2018, was sentenced Wednesday in Walla Walla County Superior Court. Leslie Moreno, 28, was sentenced to 10 and a half years in prison, minus just over two and a half years for time already served for the death of Marcus Allessio, 25.
At the beginning of her sentencing hearing, Moreno addressed the court by apologizing.
“My biggest concern is being away from my children,” she said.
Before her sentence was handed down, Moreno and her defense attorney said a pattern of emotional and physical abuse started long before the day Allessio was killed. The prosecution then presented to the court that Moreno has taken no self-responsibility and has done nothing but blame everyone else.
According to court documents, Moreno stabbed Allessio outside a residence they lived together on the 200 block of Wheatland Drive in Waitsburg. A security camera captured the incident unfold. That video was obtained by the Walla Walla County Sheriff’s Office and used as evidence.
After stabbing Allessio, Moreno called Walla Walla County Dispatch and said Allessio had a knife wound and that she was driving him to the hospital. Dispatch got her to pull over. When first responders met the vehicle, deputies reported Moreno was sitting on top of Allessio and that they couldn’t find a pulse.
First responders took Allessio the rest of the way to Providence St. Mary Medical Center. Despite multiple attempts to save his life, hospital staff declared him deceased. Deputies found a large knife of the driver’s side floorboard. Moreno was charged with second-degree murder and entered a not guilty plea on Jan. 14, 2019. She was found guilty of first-degree manslaughter on Feb. 19.
On Wednesday, Moreno was also ordered that upon her release she is to serve 36 months in community custody and participate in a domestic violence, substance use disorder, and mental health evaluation.
