A man has been charged with murder after his girlfriend was found dead in the residence they were housesitting in far southwestern Minnesota.

Joseph James Benson, 35, of Edgerton was charged with second-degree murder last week in Pipestone County and attended his pretrial conference Tuesday.

According to charges, Benson told deputies "there's a dead body upstairs" when law enforcement responded to a report of possible domestic assault at a home in Edgerton on Nov. 2.

When police entered the house, they found a woman lying face-up in the bathroom. The woman likely died of asphyxia, according to an autopsy by the Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office.

Police said the owner of the house had been on vacation in Florida and had asked Benson to watch over the home and take care of her dogs and birds.

The homeowner called police on the morning of Nov. 2, after concerns that Benson and his girlfriend, nicknamed "Panda," had been fighting.

The homeowner said that she had been talking to the housesitters via Snapchat, and that Benson had said his girlfriend was "freaking out and wanted to leave."

Police said the homeowner told Benson, "I don't care what you need to do, you get this taken care of." She said that 20 minutes later she received a SnapChat call from Benson, and after she asked if things were taken care of, he quietly said, "Panda is gone."

The homeowner said Benson repeated, "Panda is gone," before explaining that his girlfriend had been screaming out an open window, and he was afraid of going back to prison.

Benson was convicted of felony burglary in 2009.

Police said they found a video on Benson's phone in which he and his girlfriend were in a confrontation on the morning of Nov. 2, accusing each other of assault.

Police said Benson texted his ex-wife around noon Nov. 2, saying he needed a friend. He texted: "its atomically bad."

Benson faces a maximum 40 years in prison. He is in custody at the Pipestone County jail and due back in court Dec. 10.