Farmington man accused of stabbing wife 10 times over cheating allegations

FARMINGTON, Minn. (FOX 9) - A 52-year-old Farmington man is accused of stabbing his wife 10 times after he suspected she was cheating on him, according to charges filed Thursday in Dakota County Court.

Mehdi Badaoui was charged with premeditated attempted first-degree murder and second-degree attempted murder in connection with the incident.

What happened

The backstory:

According to court documents, Farmington police were called on Tuesday at about 8:30 a.m. to a residence on a report of a domestic dispute. A woman had called dispatch and was screaming that she had been stabbed and couldn’t move. The suspect, identified as Badaoui, was still in the residence. Officers located him standing in the garage and took him into custody.

The complaint states authorities located the victim in a bedroom lying on her side in a pool of blood. She had at least six to seven stab wounds, with the most serious one being in her right armpit. She was taken to a hospital, where it was determined she had been stabbed 10 times. She told authorities Badaoui was her husband, and he believed she was being unfaithful to him.

She told authorities he had assaulted her and threatened her with a knife on multiple occasions. The complaint states that Tuesday morning, the two got into an argument, and she covered her arms to protect herself to call 911 after Badaoui stopped attacking her.

The complaint states a witness who also lives at the residence woke up that morning to yelling and saw Badaoui stabbing the victim, and dragging her through the kitchen into a bedroom. The witness pleaded with him to stop, but he said he was going to kill her and go to jail. The witness said he had choked his wife in the past, and threatened to kill her many times.

Badaoui talks to police

What they're saying:

The complaint states Badaoui was taken to the Farmington Police Department and told authorities in a statement he suspected she was cheating on him. He said he placed a GPS tracker on her vehicle, and noticed that morning her car was somewhere other than her work. He located her vehicle, waited for her and confronted her before she got in her car and drove away.

The complaint states they got back to their house, and she started calling him names. He told authorities he picked up a knife and started hitting her with it after she tried scratching him in the face. He thought he stabbed her three to four times and said he was very angry with her while he was stabbing her. Officers located a pocketknife from the kitchen counter that had blood and tissue on it.

What's next:

Badaoui will have his initial court appearance on May 1.