Inset top: Rena Eves (Obituary). Inset bottom: Jonathan Melendez (Jefferson County District Attorney's Office). Background: The apartment complex where Melendez killed Eves in Watertown, N.Y. (Google Maps).
The New York man convicted of killing his elderly neighbor with a hammer because she wouldn't let him borrow her car will spend at least the next few decades behind bars.
Jonathan Melendez, 41, was ordered Monday to serve 25 years to life in prison for the murder of 88-year-old Rena Eves. As Law&Crime previously reported, Melendez was convicted in October of killing Eves in August 2023 in her own home at Beaver Meadows Apartments on Eimicke Place in Watertown, a medium-sized city located roughly 70 miles north of Syracuse.
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In addition to being found guilty of second-degree murder, Melendez was also found guilty of assault, criminal possession of a weapon, and tampering with physical evidence. According to court records, he received up to seven years for the possession charge and up to four years for evidence tampering, both served consecutively with the murder sentence. An additional 25 years for assault will run concurrently.
Melendez represented himself at trial and maintained his innocence throughout — a position that did not change at his sentencing hearing.
"For the people that were here during my trial, you seen that they planted the hammer. It was not Rena's murder weapon," he said at the sentencing, according to local CBS affiliate WWNY. "You seen that they erased blood from the crime scene. Why would they do that?"
On Aug. 27, 2023, Melendez beat the victim to death with a hammer and was arrested wearing two pairs of sweatpants — a cleaner pair over a pair covered in Eves' blood — later that same day, prosecutors proved during trial.
In a 911 call placed by the defendant, he said the victim's car had been stolen, a New York State Police investigator testified, according to a courtroom report from WWNY. Police, however, found the fob to Eves' Honda Civic in Melendez's pocket. Police then found the murder weapon in the trunk; the claw hammer was caked in blood and stuffed in a Walmart bag.
Jurors saw the hammer itself — along with a series of telltale text messages translated from Spanish between Melendez and his then-girlfriend sent before the slaying. In one text, the man said he had to "leave before doing something ugly," to which the woman responded: "Don't do anything to her."
The defendant, for his part, reiterated that he and the victim had long been friends, noting he often stayed at her apartment.
"I didn't kill Eves," he told jurors during his opening statement, WWNY reported. "I loved and cared for her."
As for the blood on his pants, Melendez said it got there when Eves cut her hand sometime before her death, according to WWNY.
Prosecutors also marshaled surveillance footage and dozens of other pieces of evidence to prove the killer's culpability.
As for a motive, the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office argued Melendez killed his victim because she would not let him use her car.
During the trial, the defendant testified he discovered the deceased woman's body but only called police several hours later because he fell asleep. He also said he suffers from drug-induced psychosis.
The victim's family spoke at the convicted killer's sentencing.
"Only a monster would be so heartless to a little old lady," Eves' granddaughter, Samantha Eves-Stewart, said in court before the sentence was issued, WWNY reported. Family members also reportedly told the judge that Melendez had repeatedly tried to call them, resulting in an order of protection for the family.
"It's very clear to me that this community, or any community, is not safe with you around," Judge David Renzi said to Melendez on Monday. "I am sentencing you to the maximum amount as requested by the DA and the victim's family."
State prison records show that Melendez is already serving almost 30 years in prison for rape and criminal contempt.
Colin Kalmbacher contributed to this report.
