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Authorities have arrested a suspect in connection to a homicide that took place in St. Paul’s Como Park neighborhood Tuesday morning.
Police responded to a report of a “woman on fire” just before 9 a.m. at a shipping warehouse on the 1700 block of Wynne Avenue.
“When officers arrived, they located a woman in her 40s who was unresponsive and not breathing and appeared to have been badly burned,” police said in a press release. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
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Police were able to quickly identify a suspect, 47-year-old Patrick Morris Simmons, through speaking with numerous witnesses at the scene. Simmons was taken to the St. Paul Police Department headquarters and then booked at the Ramsey County jail for murder.
Simmons had been in a previous relationship with the victim, police said. He was arrested by police a short distance from his Bloomington home, which was on fire at the time of his arrest. Bloomington police told Alpha News that the incident is still under investigation, but they believe Simmons started the fire.
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A source told Alpha News that Simmons went to the victim’s work in St. Paul and stabbed her repeatedly in front of up to 20 witnesses. He then poured gasoline on her and started her on fire, the source said.
He was arrested with blood on his hands and pants and his clothing was charred, the source added.
“Calls like these are absolutely shocking and devastating. I don’t have the words for this. I just know that the senseless acts of violence will cause a ripple of grief and pain to the victim’s loved ones and family,” said St. Paul Sgt. Natalie Davis. “We’re thinking of them today.”
According to Crime Watch Minneapolis, Simmons should have been civilly committed last year, but the commitment was stayed by Hennepin County Judicial Officer Danielle Mercurio.
This is the 11th homicide in St. Paul this year.
The Ramsey County medical examiner identified the victim Wednesday morning as Kelli R. Goodermont, 44, of Bloomington.