St. Cloud police found a 72-year-old woman stabbed to death, and her 52-year-old son is being held on suspicion of killing her, police said Saturday.

Lois Arlene Omeara was found dead in an apartment building at 401 33rd Av. N. early Saturday of multiple stab wounds after police responded to a 911 call. Her son has had multiple commitments for mental illness and a history of violence, according to Minnesota court records.

He was booked into the Stearns County jail on suspicion of second-degree murder. The Star Tribune typically does not name suspects before they are charged. The case is being referred to the Stearns County attorney's office.

Omeara was manager of the Wimbledon Green apartments, where she lived in a first-floor apartment. Her son lived in a third-floor apartment there.

He recently finished serving a three-year prison sentence for second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon after terrorizing an adult acquaintance with a gun in Benton County.

In 1997, the suspect was placed on probation for domestic assault in a different case, records show.

Joy Powell