A man and a woman were in custody Saturday after a body was found in the garage of a residence in St. Paul's Payne-Phalen neighborhood.

Police were called to a house in the 600 block of Lawson Avenue E. about 3 p.m. Friday. Officers found the body of an adult in the garage and called homicide investigators and the Ramsey County medical examiner to the scene.

The body may have been in the garage for weeks, said Steve Linders, public information officer for the St. Paul Police, who called the case "extremely disturbing" and are investigating it as a homicide.

The medical examiner is still working to determine an exact cause of death, as well as to positively identify the victim, police said.

The victim appears to be a man, they said.

Two people who live in the home were arrested, police said. They have not been charged. The 49-year-old man is being held on suspicion of murder, while the 47-year-old woman is being held on suspicion of interfering with a dead body and concealing evidence.

It is believed that the suspects and victim knew each other, police said.

The police were led to the house after a call from a "concerned citizen," Linders said. The house is an older two-story white stucco building with brown trim. The garage behind it faces an alley.

Police said they have been called to the house a dozen times in the past year, for incidents ranging from fights to methamphetamine possession.

The male suspect's previous criminal convictions include terroristic threats and driving while intoxicated.

The homicide is the city's 15th of the year.

Mike Hughlett • 612-673-7003