A 22-year-old Holladay woman accused of killing her girlfriend made her initial appearance in an Ogden courtroom Wednesday.
Victoria Mendoza is charged in 2nd District Court with first-degree felony murder in the Saturday stabbing death of 21-year-old Tawnee Marie Baird. During court on Wednesday, the woman indicated she would hire a private attorney. She will appear in court again on Oct. 30 to report who will represent her.
According to a probable cause statement filed in court, police were called to a church parking lot near 2484 E. Avenue at 1 a.m. on Saturday. Officers found Mendoza and Baird, who was dead from multiple stab wounds to the neck, face and chest.
Mendoza allegedly told police that she began physically fighting with Baird while they were driving on Interstate 15.
"Victoria stated she 'lost it,' drew her knife from her pocket and began stabbing [Baird] multiple times," an Ogden police detective wrote in the probable cause statement.
Mendoza then drove to the church parking lot, where she called her sister and a friend, according to police. The sister called 911, and Mendoza surrendered when police arrived.
Family members have said that Mendoza had been abusing Baird, and Baird wanted out of the relationship.
"I'm a little pissed off at myself for not separating those two. I knew deep down in my soul there was something wrong," said Baird's father, Casey Baird. "[Mendoza] was a lost little girl. But now I'm going to make sure she'll never again see the light of day. She took my one and only girl."
The two women had been living together as domestic partners in Holladay for years. On Friday night, they traveled north to visit friends.
Police believe the two had an argument that escalated to violence, but officials declined to specify what the fight was about.
Ogden investigators were working with Unified Police to document any history of domestic violence or abuse in the women's relationship. But family members said Saturday that Mendoza had been abusing Baird for months.
A search of Utah court records revealed no criminal history for Mendoza.
Her bail has been set at $100,000.
jmiller@sltrib.com