A 24-year-old man could be charged today for allegedly killing his sister over the weekend by slashing her throat as she held her 8-month-old baby outside an apartment complex, Richfield police reported Monday.

The 22-year-old woman, whom authorities have not identified, had wounds on her hands, head and back, indicating she was probably trying to defend the baby from her attacker, said police Lt. Jay Henthorne.

The baby was not injured. Henthorne said the child was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center on Saturday night for a checkup and then released to his father.

The woman was killed around 9:30 p.m. Saturday in the parking lot of the Buena Vista Apartment Homes at 734 E. 78th St., where she lived. The Hennepin County medical examiner's office is conducting an autopsy. The woman's name will be released when the autopsy is complete, Henthorne said.

The brother, who was arrested in connection with the killing, might have lived in the apartment building, police said. Henthorne said police consider him homeless.

The suspect, who could be charged today by the Hennepin County attorney's office, fled after the killing to the Mall of America, police said.

The man eventually called the Bloomington Police Department to turn himself in, saying he had been involved in an incident with his sister.

Henthorne said police are still looking into a motive for the killing. There are indications of past tensions between the brother and sister, he said.

HERÓN MÁRQUEZ ESTRADA