Mom Found Dead After Failing To Pick Up Kids From Daycare; Ex-Boyfriend Arrested

A man in Spokane, Washington, has been arrested after a woman was found dead inside her home Thursday, according to police.

The victim was identified by KXLY as Fatimah Alghazwi, who resided in an apartment on W. Sinto Avenue and N. Howard Street. She was an ex-girlfriend of the suspect, according to the outlet.

Police conducted a welfare check on Alghazwi's home at 7 p.m. Thursday after the daycare of the woman's children called authorities and informed them that the mother failed to pick up her kids and wasn't answering the phone, according to the City of Spokane Police Department (SPD).

Spokane police found the victim dead on the floor inside the apartment with cuts on her neck and back. There was a large pool of blood near her head.

The SPD's major crimes unit responded to the scene.

Cops obtained security footage, which showed the victim going into her apartment at around 5 p.m. that day and arguing with a man later identified as 45-year-old Jean Paul Kirkpatrick.

In the footage, Alghazwi went inside, and Kirkpatrick argued outside the door for several minutes before entering her apartment.

Authorities said that for a couple of minutes, neither Alghazwi nor Kirkpatrick came out.

At some point, Kirkpatrick exited the apartment and went inside a different apartment, before returning to the woman's home.

A minute later, Kirkpatrick was seen in security footage leaving the apartment carrying a black bag. He then got into his car and drove toward West Sunset Boulevard, according to police.

Officers detained the man outside a convenience store and took him in for questioning.

Authorities said Kirkpatrick appeared "highly inebriated" and admitted that he was with the victim earlier in the evening and that they fought.

However, Kirkpatrick claimed that all was well between them and denied knowing anything about what happened to the victim.

Kirkpatrick was arrested and booked into the Spokane County Jail on second-degree murder charges.

Police said the investigation is ongoing.

Kirkpatrick has 11 prior felony convictions. He was convicted of violating a no-contact order and interfering with a domestic violence report in the past month.

Spokane police said that a day before the woman was found dead, they responded to a report that Kirkpatrick was trying to break down Alghazwi's door.

A neighbor told authorities that Kirkpatrick forced his way into Alghazwi's apartment when she wouldn't let him in.

Alghazwi told the responding officer that she let Kirkpatrick inside her home. She said she was not assaulted and didn't want to press charges.