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Ogden • A 22-year-old Holladay woman accused of stabbing her girlfriend to death while the two were driving down Interstate 15 last month will remain in jail without bail, an Ogden judge ruled Monday.

Victoria Ashley Mendoza is charged in Ogden's 2nd District Court with first-degree felony murder in the death of 21-year-old Tawnee Marie Baird.

Mendoza initially was held in the Weber County jail on $100,000 bondable bail after the Oct. 18 stabbing.

But prosecutors subsequently asked for the bail to be increased, arguing that she was a flight risk and a risk to others. She was ordered to be held temporarily without bail until Monday's hearing.

During the bail hearing Monday, Deputy Weber County Attorney Christopher Allred told a judge that based on her juvenile court history, prosecutors believe Mendoza would flee if released and may be a "habitual runaway." Allred also argued that their case against Mendoza is strong, and that the woman has confessed to the crime multiple times.

"[The couple] got into an argument while traveling on I-15," Allred told Judge Joseph Bean. "The defendant states that Baird smacked her and pulled her hair and she became enraged and snapped."

Mendoza allegedly stabbed Baird more than 40 times, Allred said, adding that it's still not clear which woman was driving the vehicle when the stabbing occurred.

Allred asked that bail be set near $500,000, to be "more consistent with open murder cases pending right now."

But defense attorney Michael Studebaker argued that his client has no previous violent criminal charges, and is not a danger to others. He said prosecutors are trying to punish Mendoza preemptively.

"The relationship between Ms. Baird and Ms. Mendoza was volatile, at a minimum," Studebaker said. "A lot of violence back and forward between the two parties."

Ultimately, the judge ordered that Mendoza be held at the jail without bail, saying there it was concerning that the woman did not show up for juvenile court hearings and that the allegations against her involve "extreme violence."

"Due to the fact that this took place on I-15, that is a problem," Bean said. "It's a disregard for the safety of others and the safety of the community."

For Baird's parents, the bail increase was good news.

"She's ruined my family," mother Dana Gunn said of Mendoza. "I've been raising her for five years with my daughter and then shes does that and takes my daughter away."

Father Casey Baird said he was "happy" after Monday's hearing.

"I feel it's good, as a father who is grieving very, very hard," he said. "This is the hardest thing I've ever been through in my whole entire life. Tawnee was everything and I held her on this pedestal."

Mendoza will be back in court again on Dec. 22 for oral arguments. A preliminary hearing was set for Feb. 27.

According to a probable cause statement filed in court, police were called to a church parking lot near 2484 E. Avenue at 1 a.m. on Oct. 18.

Officers found Mendoza and Baird, who was dead from multiple stab wounds in the neck, face and chest.

Mendoza allegedly told police that she began physically fighting with Baird while they were driving on Interstate 15.

"Victoria stated she 'lost it,' drew her knife from her pocket and began stabbing [Baird] multiple times," an Ogden police detective wrote in the probable cause statement.

Mendoza then drove to the church parking lot, where she called her sister and a friend, according to police. The sister called 911, and Mendoza surrendered when police arrived.

Family members have said that Mendoza had been abusing Baird, and Baird wanted out of the relationship.

"I'm a little pissed off at myself for not separating those two. I knew deep down in my soul there was something wrong," Casey Baird said last month. "[Mendoza] was a lost little girl. But now I'm going to make sure she'll never again see the light of day. She took my one and only girl."

The two women had been living together as domestic partners in Holladay for years. They had traveled north to visit friends on the evening before the fatal stabbing.

Police believe the two had an argument that escalated to violence, but officials have declined to specify what the fight was about.

A search of Utah court records revealed no adult criminal history for Mendoza, but prosecutors said in a recent court filing that she had an extensive juvenile court history, including 12 bench warrants issued and eight contempt charges filed against her from 2008 to 2010.