Background: The Sky Dancer Casino & Resort in Belcourt, North Dakota (Google Maps). Inset: (Rolette County Sheriff's Office).
A man is accused of stabbing a woman to death at a casino on a Native American reservation, with responding law enforcement allegedly finding him with a battered eye and what appeared to be blood all over him.
Rigoberto Mendez-Morales, 58, faces a count of second-degree murder within Indian Country, a federal charge given that the alleged crime occurred on federally-designated Native American land.
Court records state that the victim was an "enrolled member of a federally recognized tribe." The defendant, however, is not giving the U.S. government jurisdiction over the case.
On Jan. 10, at about 6:07 a.m., someone called 911 "stating there was a dead person" at the Sky Dancer Casino & Resort on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation in Belcourt, North Dakota, according to a criminal affidavit reviewed by Law&Crime.
The caller – identified as Mendez-Morales – indicated he woke up and the person, a female, was dead."
Deputies with the Rolette County Sheriff's Office responded and entered his room, finding the defendant sitting on the bed. A woman, only referred to as B.T.M. in the court filing written by an FBI agent, was on the floor.
Mendez-Morales "appeared to have blood on his clothing and face," and he also had an apparent "injury to his right eye that was swollen and bleeding," according to the filing. A booking photo showed the suspect with a purple and black eye swelled up to the point where it looks impossible to open.
When officers detained the defendant, they allegedly found him with a "Leatherman-type tool" – a multi-purpose product that can be used as knives or scissors.
The tool was "covered in what appeared to be blood," and when the FBI later collected it, they found "what appeared to be long black human hairs that law enforcement observed to be consistent with B.T.M."
Investigators also reviewed surveillance footage of the hallway outside the room, which showed that the suspect and victim "were the only two individuals who entered the room" during the hours of question.
The FBI interviewed Mendez-Morales, and, according to the affidavit, he said he "recalled gambling at the Sky Dancer" and having "consumed three wine alcoholic drinks while gambling." However, the man allegedly "did not recall returning to his room" nor "why he had blood on his pants, shirt, and multi-tool."
The defendant allegedly "denied touching B.T.M. when he saw she was on the floor and covered in blood" and "stated he woke up on his bed and saw B.T.M. was not moving."
Leaders with the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa called the alleged crime "a senseless act of domestic violence" and gave condolences to the victim's family, Fargo-based NBC affiliate KVLY reported.
It is unclear if the suspect and victim knew each other before the suspect's January visit to the casino. Mendez-Morales faces life imprisonment if found guilty of second-degree murder.
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