VALLEY CITY - A Barnes County jailer who lived in Mindy Morgenstern's apartment building was charged with murder in the death of the Valley City State University student, police said Wednesday.

Moe Maurice Gibbs, 34, of Valley City, was charged with Class AA murder, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison without parole. He was taken to the Cass County Jail in Fargo, Police Chief Dean Ross said at a late-night news conference.

Gibbs had been a Barnes County jailer since about July, and he was arrested about 6 p.m. Wednesday, when he came to the Police Department for questioning, Ross said. He said Gibbs did not turn himself in, but he declined to give details of the arrest or say how long Gibbs was a suspect.

Ross also said he would not release any information about how Gibbs and Morgenstern knew each other, and he did not know how long Gibbs had been in the community.

"As of this time, I can't talk about a motive," the police chief said at the news conference.

"You're not going to get a lot of answers about why," Ross said. "We do have further investigation to do in this case … This will come to trial, and we don't want to jeopardize our case."

The police chief said he hoped the arrest would calm fears in Valley City.

"Everybody's scared, and we wanted to bring some peace," Ross said, adding later: "We still are a safe community. This is one tragic death that shouldn't have happened."

Earlier, the chief said Morgenstern, 22, of New Salem, was last seen alive at about 12:25 p.m. on Sept. 13, by a person who had a conversation with her. She was found dead that night in her off-campus apartment. An autopsy showed she died of a knife wound.

Cass County jail officials said Gibbs was booked into the Fargo jail at 9:41 p.m. Wednesday.

Jordan Ranum, Morgenstern's boyfriend, said that other than a passing hello, he did not think she knew Gibbs, but he had seen Gibbs' car parked outside her apartment building.

Asked about a motive for the killing, Ranum said, "I don't have the foggiest notion. I am very, very angry."

Funeral services for Morgenstern were held Tuesday in her home town of New Salem, and a memorial service was held at Valley City State a day earlier.

Valley City Mayor Mary Lee Nielson said the community was "very relieved that this murder has been solved. But it's very shocking."

(Associated Press Writer Dave Kolpack contributed to this story.)