Inset: Daniel Fiero (GoFundMe). Background: The extended-stay hotel in Henrietta, New York, where Fiero was killed (WHAM).
A New York veteran has admitted to killing the man who took him in, bought him food and arranged shelter for him after finding him walking along a snow-covered road during the winter.
Richard Leo, 37, pleaded guilty Friday to second-degree murder in the stabbing death of 40-year-old Daniel Fiero, according to the Monroe County District Attorney”s Office.
Deputies were called shortly before 3 p.m. Jan. 31 to an extended-stay hotel in Henrietta, a community just outside Rochester. They found Leo standing outside a room with blood on his body. Inside, Fiero was suffering from multiple stab wounds to his head and face.
Investigators determined that Fiero, a truck driver, had met Leo about a month earlier after seeing him walking along the roadside in the cold.
“After offering the defendant a ride, Daniel Fiero learned that Richard Leo was a homeless veteran,” prosecutors said.
Over the following month, Fiero helped Leo secure housing and paid for his meals.
Prosecutors said Leo killed Fiero “out of anger” on the day of the stabbing. Authorities have not disclosed a motive, while a GoFundMe organized by Fiero’s family described the killing as a “homophobic hate crime.”
“Daniel Fiero lost his life because he chose to help someone in need, and that is a tragedy that is difficult to comprehend,” Monroe County District Attorney Brian Green said. “His compassion and generosity were met with senseless violence at the hands of Richard Leo. No act of kindness should ever end in such a loss, and no family should have to endure the heartbreak of losing a loved one under these circumstances.”
Assistant District Attorney Patrick Gallagher, who prosecuted the case, said Fiero represented “the kind of person we should all strive to be.”
“When he encountered a stranger in need, he did not hesitate to offer a helping hand. What began as a simple act of kindness became an extraordinary display of compassion and generosity,” Gallagher said. “Tragically, Richard Leo repaid that kindness with an unimaginable act of violence, brutally taking the life of the very person who had gone out of his way to help him. Daniel deserved so much better.”
Fiero’s family wrote in the GoFundMe description that helping others was part of who he was. They said he also cared for his sister, who has special needs.
“The way Dan was taken has left us angry, heartbroken, and completely devastated,” the fundraiser states. “No family should have to bury someone because of hate.”
Leo is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 16.
