Inset: Daniel Fiero (GoFundMe). Background: The extended stay hotel in Henrietta, New York, where Fiero was murdered (WHAM).
A veteran from New York admitted to killing the man who helped him, providing food and shelter for a month after spotting him walking down a snowy road in the cold of winter.
Richard Leo, 37, pleaded guilty on Friday to second-degree murder in the stabbing death of 40-year-old Daniel Fiero, the Monroe County District Attorney's Office said.
Deputies responded shortly before 3 p.m. Jan. 31 to an extended stay hotel in Henrietta, which is just outside Rochester. When they arrived, they saw Leo standing outside a room with blood on him. Deputies entered the room, where they found Fiero suffering from multiple stab wounds to his head and face.
An investigation revealed that Fiero, a truck driver, met Leo roughly a month earlier, when he saw Leo walking down the side of the road in the cold.
"After offering the defendant a ride, Daniel Fiero learned that Richard Leo was a homeless veteran," prosecutors said.
For the next month, Fiero found housing for Leo and bought his food.
On the day in question, Leo killed Fiero "out of anger," prosecutors said. Authorities did not give a motive, but a GoFundMe started by Fiero's family called it 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," said Monroe County District Attorney Brian Green. "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 was "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 said in the GoFundMe description that helping people came naturally to him. He cared for his sister, who has special needs.
"The way Dan was taken has left us angry, heartbroken, and completely devastated," the fundraiser reads. "No family should have to bury someone because of hate."
Leo is set to be sentenced on Nov. 16.