FARMINGTON, NM – A 34-year-old man is accused of killing his longtime girlfriend inside her home after previously threatening her on video, telling her, “You are going to die tonight,” according to court records and investigators. The case unfolded after an early morning call that initially brought police to the residence for what was reported as a medical emergency.
Melvin Becenti has been charged with second-degree murder and tampering with evidence in the death of 33-year-old Kelsie Todacheeny, according to San Juan County jail records. Officers with the Farmington Police Department responded to the home in the 2400 block of East 20th Street at about 3:30 a.m. on Jan. 15, 2024, where Todacheeny was found dead. The death was quickly deemed suspicious as officers began examining the circumstances surrounding the scene.
History of violence and video evidence
Becenti, identified as Todacheeny’s boyfriend, told officers he had left the home roughly two hours earlier to buy dog food at Walmart and returned to find her unresponsive. Investigators challenged that account after noting the store was closed at the time. According to the arrest affidavit cited by the Tri-City Record, Becenti responded, “I guess I didn’t.”
Investigators also uncovered a history of domestic violence between the couple. A friend of Todacheeny provided videos to police showing the victim with visible injuries, including a black eye, while Becenti could be heard in the background calling her a “crackhead” and stating, “You are going to die tonight.” In additional footage recorded days before her death, Todacheeny appeared to be asleep on a couch while a man manipulated her face and called her names.
Autopsy findings and surveillance footage
An examination of Todacheeny’s body revealed visible injuries, including bruising beneath her left eye and swelling on her right cheek, according to the affidavit. The Office of the Medical Investigator determined her cause of death to be “asphyxial injuries and blunt trauma,” ruling the manner of death a homicide.
Police said Becenti later admitted that the couple had been arguing the night she died. Surveillance video from a nearby Speedway convenience store reportedly showed him wearing a shirt with a dark-colored stain on the left side below the chest area, which investigators noted could be blood.
Becenti is scheduled to appear in court on July 31.
