Police have arrested a man in connection with the murder of a woman found dead at her place of employment on Tuesday.
Shortly before 9 a.m. on Tuesday, March 15, officers with the St. Paul Police Department (SPPD) were dispatched to a trucking facility located in the 1700 block of Wynne Avenue in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Officers were called to the scene for a report of a woman on fire.
HOMICIDE INVESTIGATION
We’re investigating a homicide after a woman was found dead this morning on the 1700 block of Wynne Avenue.
Watch here for updates and information about a media availability. pic.twitter.com/K13xzoOpNf
— Saint Paul Police Department (@sppdmn) March 15, 2022
When police arrived, they found a woman in her 40s at the facility who was unresponsive, not breathing, and badly burned.
Saint Paul Fire medics later pronounced the woman dead at the scene. An official cause of death has not been released.
The woman was an employee at trucking facility, according to reports.
Homicide investigators responded to the facility.
Police were able to identify a suspect — 47 year old Patrick Morris Simmons –who had previously been in a relationship with the woman.
The Star Tribune reported that Simmons was a truck driver who also worked at the facility.
SPPD shared information on the suspect with the Bloomington Police Department (BPD), as Simmons is a resident of Bloomington.
When BPD arrived on scene to arrest Simmons a short distance from his home, his home was on fire.
Structure Fire- 5000 block of Nine Mile Creek Circle. Crews from several stations along with @EdinaFire are battling this fire. Updates to follow. pic.twitter.com/bzTj0PKqM6
— Bloomington Fire (@BFD_MN) March 15, 2022
BPD arrested Simmons without further incident.
Simmons was booked in the Ramsey County Jail on homicide charges.