SE MN Attempted Murder Suspect Takes Plea Deal Just Before Trial

Hastings, MN (MinnesotaNow) - A southeastern Minnesota man was about to stand trial today on attempted murder charges when he entered into a last-minute plea agreement.

Jury selection was scheduled to begin this morning for 53-year-old Mehdi Badaoui's trial in Dakota County court for a brutal knife attack on his wife last year. The Farmington man was charged with one count each of first-degree attempted premeditated murder and second-degree attempted murder.

Witness Saw Victim Being Stabbed

According to the charges against him, Farmington police responded to a report of a domestic incident at the couple's home in Farmington on the morning of April 15, 2025. The criminal complaint says a witness told responding officers that they saw Badaoui stab the victim and then drag her to the kitchen.

Farmington Police Department - Minnesota via Facebook

Stabbed 10 Times

Officers reported finding the woman suffering from multiple stab wounds. The court document indicates she was in a bedroom, lying on her side in a pool of her own blood. Officers then applied a tourniquet to one of the wounds to stop the bleeding before she was rushed to a nearby hospital for emergency surgery.

The criminal complaint says she suffered a total of 10 stab wounds.

The charges against Badaoui state that he was located in the garage with blood on his hands. Investigators also recovered a pocket knife with blood on it in the home.

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Guilty Plea Just Before Start of Trial

Under the terms of a plea agreement filed in Dakota County court today, Badaoui has admitted to the first-degree attempted murder charge in exchange for the dismissal of the second-degree count. The plea deal also indicates that prosecutors will request a 20-year prison sentence, while Badaoui's defense attorney will argue for a sentence of just under 13 years.

His sentencing hearing has been scheduled for late May.

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