An upstate New York man will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars after being convicted of an octogenarian's brutal murder. Sign up for our newsletter, The Law&Crime Docket, to get the latest real-life crime stories delivered right to your inbox. 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. 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.