A 52-year-old Farmington man accused his wife of cheating on him and then repeatedly stabbed her at their home on Tuesday, according to attempted murder charges.
Farmington police officers were sent to the home in the 19000 block of Goldfinch Drive about 8:30 a.m. on a report of domestic assault. Dispatchers told officers a woman was screaming that she had been stabbed and couldn’t move, according to a criminal complaint filed Thursday in Dakota County District Court charging Mehdi Badaoui with one count each of first- and second-degree attempted murder.
Mehdi Badaoui (Courtesy of the Dakota County Sheriff’s Office)
When officers arrived at the home, a witness and Badaoui were standing in the garage. Officers took Badaoui into custody, noting he had blood on his hand.
The witness led officers to a bedroom, where the woman was lying on her side in a pool of blood. Officers applied a tourniquet to stop one of the wounds on her arm from bleeding.
Later, hospital staff told officers she had 10 stab wounds, lost a lot of blood and needed emergency surgery. A laceration to neck/shoulder area and a wound to her armpit were considered the most serious, the complaint says.
At the home, officers recovered a bloody pocketknife on the kitchen counter.
Officers were able to speak with the woman, who said Badaoui is her husband and that he believes she is unfaithful to him. She reported he has beaten her and threatened her with a knife multiple times.
The witness, who also lives at the home, told police she woke up that morning to yelling and saw Badaoui stabbing the woman. She also saw him drag the victim through the kitchen and into a bedroom.
The witness “pleaded with (Badaoui) to stop, but he stated he was going to kill (the victim) and go to jail,” the complaint says. The witness told police Badaoui has choked the victim and threatened to kill her several times before.
In an interview at the police station, Badaoui said he suspected his wife was cheating on him. He admitted to placing a GPS tracking device under a seat in her car and that several times in recent months he had waited outside her workplace for her to come out.
On the day of the stabbing, Badaoui told police, he noticed that she was somewhere other than work. He went there and confronted her and they argued. Later, at home, they argued more. He said picked up a knife and began “hitting” her with it after she tried to scratch him in the face.
Badaoui said he thought he stabbed his wife three to four times, and admitted he was angry with her while doing so and that she was screaming for the witness during the attack, the complaint says.
Badaoui had a first court appearance on the charges Thursday, where he remained at the Dakota County jail in lieu of $1 million bail or $750,000 with conditions. The court also issued a domestic abuse no-contact order, prohibiting Badaoui from having any direct or indirect contact with the woman. His next court appearance is scheduled for May 1.
“The facts in this case are shocking and the terror the victim endured is unthinkable,” Dakota County Attorney Kathy Keena said in a statement. “I’m grateful to the Farmington Police Department and the first responders who provided life-saving aid. My thoughts continue to be with the victim as she recovers.”
Badaoui does not have a criminal record beyond three parking tickets and a speeding violation, Minnesota court records show.
Help for victims of domestic violence is available through the Day One hotline by calling 866-223-1111 or texting 612-399-9995.
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