MINOT (AP) - Police say they found a woman dead at a man's home and arrested him on a murder charge.

The body of Jennifer Erickson, 28, of Parshall, was found in a northwest Minot home at about 3:30 a.m. Monday, police said.

A police statement said Jay Washek, 42, who lives at the home, was jailed on a charge of Class AA murder.

"Mr. Washek was not there at the time that the police arrived," Detective Sgt. Bob Barnard said. Washek was arrested shortly afterward, he said.

"(It was) just a matter of a few minutes. We knew where he was at the time we received the call," Barnard said.

Police would not say how Erickson was killed or give other details of the crime. They said Washek would be formally charged today.

"These two people did have a relationship previously, so they were known to each other," Barnard said.

"When the officers arrived at that location, they found the door to the dwelling open," the detective said. Inside, they found Erickson's body and the evidence pointed to homicide, he said.

The families of Erickson and Washek were very cooperative, Barnard said.