Minnesota Man Kills Girlfriend While House-Sitting, Informs Vacationing Homeowner Over Snapchat: Cops

A Minnesota man accused of killing his girlfriend while house-sitting Saturday allegedly informed the vacationing homeowner over Snapchat.

Joseph James Benson, 35, has been charged with second-degree murder after Benson allegedly informed the homeowner of the incident over Snapchat, leading her to alert authorities.

Pipestone County deputies responded to the call at a residence on 1st Avenue West just before noon, KSTP reported. The homeowner, who was vacationing in Florida, had asked Benson to watch her home, and he had brought his girlfriend to stay with him. She told investigators that she had heard the couple fighting before Benson later messaged her on Snapchat saying he had killed his girlfriend.

Upon arriving, deputies found Benson with visible scratches on his face. "There's a dead body upstairs," he told police, admitting that the scratches were from his girlfriend.

Police discovered the woman's body on the bathroom floor with an extension cord around her legs, marks on her throat, and blood in her ear and hair. The cause of death was ruled probable asphyxia, with the manner of death listed as homicide.

The homeowner told authorities she had previously urged the couple to stop fighting. Shortly after, Benson allegedly called her, saying his girlfriend was "gone."

"She wouldn't stop screaming and I can't go back to prison," he said.

Investigators found a disturbing video on Benson's phone showing the two arguing on the day of the murder. "Here look at the bruises on my face from him beating me again," Benson's girlfriend says early in the recording.

"Stop, please stop. I didn't tell anybody; I didn't tell anybody," she is heard saying later in the video. The woman is shown on the ground, seemingly unable to stand, crying as she pleads for Benson to call 911.

In a text exchange that morning with his ex-wife, Benson sent cryptic messages "If ever you were able to be a friend, please let it be now," Benson said in a cryptic text he sent to his ex-wife.

"I need a friend something happened," a second message read. When she inquired further, Benson told her, "I can't say can you call me," and "It's atomically bad."