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).
An upstate New York man will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars after being convicted of an octogenarian’s brutal murder.
Jonathan E. Melendez, 40, was convicted by a jury of his peers in Jefferson County for the murder of Rena L. Eves, 88, on Thursday – with the triers of fact rendering guilty verdicts on all counts against the self-represented defendant.
“I didn’t kill Rena,” Melendez said when taking the stand in his own defense on Monday, according to a courtroom report by NNY360.
But when it was all said and done, jurors simply did not agree.
In sum, the defendant was convicted on one count each of murder in the second degree, assault in the first degree, criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, and tampering with physical evidence.
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On Aug. 27, 2023, Eves was found dead in her own home at Beaver Meadows Apartments on Eimicke Place in Watertown, a medium-sized city located roughly 70 miles north of Syracuse.
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 by Carthage-based CBS affiliate 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 the since-condemned man 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.
As if to prove that latter point, Melendez also accused the prosecution of targeting him on account of the Freemasons, WWNY reported. This allegation drew a rebuke from County Court Judge David Renzi, who said conspiracy theories had no place in the courtroom.
The victim’s family welcomed the end of the process.
“As a family, we’re certainly happy to have this come to a close,” one of Eves’ granddaughters told the TV station. “It’s certainly a decision we wanted and anticipated. Just hearing all counts of guilty is really reassuring.”
The slain woman’s obituary remembers her fondly:
Rena loved her family and three cats Cindy, Mindy, and Hunter. She enjoyed gardening, cherished luncheons with fellow nurses, creating joyful memories with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and she was an active member at Trinity Episcopal Church.
Melendez is slated to be sentenced on Dec. 8.
