St. Paul police on Thursday arrested a 34-year-old woman for allegedly stabbing her longtime boyfriend to death.

The woman was arrested at her home after police were called to the address in the 600 block of Burr Street N. for a possible break-in just after 4:30 a.m.

When police arrived, they found Obinna Udo Nwankpa, 30, lying on the basement steps with an apparent stab wound to his chest.

St. Paul Fire Department medics transported Nwankpa to Regions Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 5:51 a.m.

A knife believed to be the murder weapon was recovered at the scene and police do not believe there is any risk to public safety, said Sgt. Paul Paulos, a department spokesman.

Nwankpa and the suspect were "boyfriend and girlfriend" and were in a long-term relationship, Paulos said. But it appears that the relationship was a rocky one. Police had been at the home several times over the past couple of years, he said, on calls ranging from domestic disturbances to suspicious persons.

Nwankpa also lived in St. Paul but did not live at the Burr Street house where he was killed.

Paulos said there were other people in the house at the time of the stabbing and they have been, or are being, questioned by police. He said he does not know if the couple have children together and whether any of the other people in the home were children.

When asked about a possible motive for the stabbing, Paulos said that is still being investigated.

James Walsh