Prosecutors: Boyfriend charged with murder in deadly beating that left woman with ruptured stomach

BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. (FOX 9) - A man is facing charges on Friday after an autopsy revealed his girlfriend died from a ruptured stomach following a beating last week.

The murder charges follow the woman's death on Sunday in St. Paul. Officers responded to a home on the 1500 block of Jackson Street Sunday afternoon for the report of an overdose.

At the home, police found a victim who had died and appeared to be assaulted.

Prosecutors say they learned the victim, identified as 36-year-old Lacy Jo Krube, had been staying at a home in Brooklyn Park with her boyfriend, 42-year-old Timothy Heller.

According to investigators, Heller was homeless and invited to stay with a friend at a home on the 7500 block of Brunswick Avenue in Brooklyn Park during the cold snap. While he was at the home, Heller asked if his girlfriend could also stay with him, which the friends allowed.

However, on Saturday, February 20, the homeowners told Heller and Krube they needed to leave the next day. Later on Saturday, as the couple returned to the home, they noticed Krube had bruises.

Prosecutors say when Krube told them that Heller had beat her, one of the homeowners began fighting with Heller, who ran from the home.

The homeowners say they tried to convince Krube to go to the hospital but she refused. She asked them instead to take her to her home on Jackson Street in St. Paul.

At home, Krube met with some friends who also noticed her injuries and tried to get her to get checked at a hospital but again Krube declined. However, later on, prosecutors say she began developing stomach pain and lost consciousness.

Her friends called paramedics but Krube never regained consciousness and was ultimately pronounced dead.

A medical examiner found that Krube had died from a ruptured stomach which caused a condition known as peritonitis -- an inflammation in the abdomen.

Heller was taken into custody and is now charged with murder. He is expected to make his first court apperance on Monday.