A case of domestic violence resulted in a murder charge Friday in the strangulation death of a Brooklyn Park woman.

Toby N. Clarke, 37, was charged in the death that occurred at his girlfriend's home Wednesday. Clarke has a history of domestic-abuse charges and an order for protection filed against him.

According to the criminal complaint, Clarke called 911 about 3 a.m. to report an unconscious woman. When police arrived, Clarke was there and his girlfriend was unconscious with bruising on her arms and her neck. Krista Ambers, 36, was pronounced dead a short time later. The Hennepin County medical examiner determined that she died of strangulation.

Clarke first told police that they were only friends, but then admitted that they had been in a relationship for three years and that he choked her while they were engaged in rough sex, the complaint states.

Clarke will make his first court appearance Monday.

DAVID CHANEN