UC Santa Cruz student killed mom and 3 Chihuahuas, police say

A 20-year-old UC Santa Cruz student has been charged with stabbing his mother to death with a pair of scissors and then killing the family’s three Chihuahuas.

His 93-year-old grandmother made the call to police.

“Yes I did it. ... She’s gone. She’s dead,” the suspect, Joseph Badiali, told officers, according to a criminal complaint.

Badiali faces one count of murder in the death of his mother, Rosemary Theresita Badiali, and animal cruelty charges in the dogs’ deaths, according to an Alameda County Superior Court complaint.

An investigation into the slaying is going, Hayward Police Sgt. Mark Ormsby said.

The criminal complaint in the case details what officers said they saw when they responded to a home in the 27000 block of La Porte Avenue shortly after 6:50 p.m. Saturday, when Joseph Badiali’s grandmother called police to report that “her grandson had killed her daughter.”

Seconds after officers entered the home, Joseph Badiali -- his hand, legs and clothing covered in blood -- approached and said, “Yes, I did it,” according to the complaint. He then told an officer, “She’s gone. She’s dead,” the report said.

Officers said his mother was found in the back of the home, face down in a pool of her own blood and with multiple stab wounds to her head.

The likely weapon was a pair of household scissors recovered at the scene, police said.

Officers said they found the family Chihuahuas -- Missy, Mickey and a third unnamed male dog -- in the backyard suffering from “severe trauma.”

Prosecutors did not elaborate on how the dogs were killed, but said in court documents that blood was coming from their heads.

Joseph Badiali is due in court on Friday.

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