Beloved family pet slain; suspect wanted
A man is wanted for the alleged killing of a family pet whose loss has scorched the heart of a local woman.
Little Momo, a chihuahua and mini-pincher mix was the pride and joy of Michelle Begay. He was a living memory, a connection to her sister who died in an head on collision about four years earlier.
At the funeral service, Momo, barely a year then, jumped into her lap and the two instantly bonded.
Michelle said that she wasn’t ready for a pet, still grieving after recently losing her beloved German Shepard of 12 years. But she felt a connection – Momo selected her as her new mom, and in turn she wanted to give Momo the best life possible.
“She was my coping mechanism,” Michelle said.
Momo also helped her deal with compounded grief. Michelle had lost her young daughter in an accident when the vehicle they were riding in was struck by an intoxicated driver. In a way, Momo was her daughter.
“She was my dog and I lost her. She looked after me and protected me.”
Naturally, Michelle entrusted those around her to accept Momo as part of the family.
This included Nelson Begay, Jr., 35, a family friend of 20 years, an indirect relation, and promising student. He came to live with her family last summer in exchange for helping out around the house. The family even bought him a new mattress so he could sleep comfortably. Michelle said her mom Julie Begay supports education and likes to help friends and family seeking to better themselves.
Nelson’s goal was to attend welding school in Tulsa, Okla. And once accepted, Nelson took off to Oklahoma in the fall. But a month later he was back in Gallup.
However, any trust that she placed in Nelson came crashing down Jan. 7, when she returned home with her family after a long day of shopping in Albuquerque.
Momo’s doggy daughter and sister came out to greet the family. It took a few minutes for Michelle to notice that Momo was missing as they were focused on unloading the groceries. Michelle began to search the house, and when she checked her mom’s room, she found it ransacked, with items stripped from the wall and a lamp knocked over.
When she picked up the lamp she noticed a pool of blood on the floor. Her heart sank and panic set in. From there, she noticed blood on the staircase.
At this point, Nelson still hadn’t come out of his room, not even to help with groceries as he has done so like clockwork when the family returns home from shopping.
The mom, two daughters and brother headed up the stairs and knocked on the door. No answer from Nelson. So, they pried the locked door open with a paperclip. While there are plenty of details to cover, the one thing that was obvious was the blood splatter on the walls and droplets of blood here and there.
But no Momo. Just Begaye passed out in the bedroom and an empty bottle of Vodka on the dresser. As Gallup Police arrived, officers began to remove Begay from the residence. In the report, it’s noted that officers noticed blood on his left inner finger area and that he had minor cuts to his hands. He was taken to detox.
Police searched the room for the little dog’s body, even lifting up the mattress and combing the room and the rest of the home. Michelle was told that without a body, there wasn’t much police could do at the time.
That night they searched the house, neighboring trash cans and even went to the nearby Hogbacks to see if Momo was disposed of there. Still, no Momo. Meanwhile, a new fear began to brew for Michelle and her family. They worried about Nelson returning to the home.
And he did. The next evening.
Lucky for Michelle, her sister reportedly saw him and two men walking in the direction of the house and called her. Shortly after the call, he showed up outside of her home flanked by the two men. All three pulled out a pipe from their clothes. She said Nelson threatened to kill her. Michelle stood there, frozen in terror – terror that lasted only moments as Michelle’s sister pulled up to the house, and the bright headlights from her car prompted the trio to scatter.
“It took all of me to keep my composure,” Michelle said.
Gallup Police Officer Jeremy Shirley filed a report and a warrant for the arrest of Begay. He’s wanted for aggravated battery.
The next two-weeks were tough. Michelle, a civil engineer, had to leave town frequently on work assignments. Each time she returned home, she would go upstairs to slowly clean up what was once Nelson’s room.
She felt on edge, and she constantly looked over her shoulder for Nelson to show up unexpectedly. There was no contact with him, except a reported text sent from him to Julie saying that the family fabricated the whole story.
But Nelson’s alleged assertion was put to rest on Jan. 28.
As Michelle cleaned the room Nelson used, she could smell the thick stench of death. Thinking it was the bedding, she folded it up to take to the dry cleaners at her mother’s recommendation. The smell didn’t dissipate, though. Michelle’s brother was in the room and was about to check the mattress and pull the sheet off when he noticed a lump. When he pressed on the lump, blood soaked through.
They had found Momo, stuffed in the mattress and decomposing.
Police and animal control officers arrived at the scene. Momo’s body was carefully removed from the mattress and taken to Dr. Clint Balok for a post-mortem examination. The heart breaking report indicates that Momo was killed by a massive blunt trauma blow to the right side of the head.
“It is my opinion that the animal died instantly from the blow to the head,” Balok stated in his report.
The same day Momo’s body was discovered, so was a hammer with blood on it. GPD Officer Shirley logged it into evidence.
The discovery of Momo’s body brought forth renewed feelings of anger for Michelle.
“I try not to have hatred,” she said, fighting back tears. “It’s so hard not to hate that person because they ripped something from you.”
Police issued a second warrant for the arrest of Nelson Begay, Jr. on Feb. 2. GPD Detective Lt. Rosanne Morrissette said when Animal Control notified the detective division of the incident, her department sprung into action.
“If he hurt a dog, he can hurt a person,” Morrissette said. “We need to get him off the streets.”
Nelson is still at large as of Feb. 16, and police need the public’s help with locating this individual with an extensive rap sheet.
NELSON BEGAY’S RAP SHEET
In 2013, he received his third DWI and was charged with “aggravated fleeing from a law enforcement officer.”
In 2007, he was sentenced to three years in prison for a DWI conviction that resulted in “great bodily harm” to another person.
In 2006, he was charged with battery on a peace officer, and a slew of other charges that were eventually dropped, which included aggravated assault on a peace officer; resisting, evading or obstructing an officer; abandonment or abuse of a child; false imprisonment; arson and negligent arson; and violation of a restraining order. Nelson received a sentence of 18 months and 364 days.
In 2003, he was charged for battery against a household member, but that case was dismissed.
According to New Mexico Courts.com, overall, he appears to have multiple DWI charges, run-ins with law enforcement officers, and domestic violence charges.
Michelle took to social media to warn her friends about Nelson, and said that when people within her circle learned of Momo’s death, some came forward claiming that they had at least one confrontation with Nelson.
“Logically, when I am thinking about it, we wouldn’t have let him stay with us if we were warned,” she said.
Now all she has to remember Momo by are photos and clothing, as Momo had a wardrobe of her own. Michelle said Momo was her lab partner in college, riding on the back of her scooter to accompany her as she engaged in her studies.
“She was a really, really good dog,” she said.
Anyone with information on Nelson Begay’s whereabouts is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers at (505) 722-6161. Your name will be kept confidential, and there’s up to a $1,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.
By Babette Herrmann
Sun Editor
