A 40-year-old woman is dead and a male suspect is in custody following a reported stabbing in an east Erie neighborhood early Thursday morning.

The woman, whose name has not yet been released, was pronounced dead at UPMC Hamot at 1:19 am Thursday, according to the Erie County Coroner’s Office. An autopsy is scheduled for 11 am Thursday.

The woman was rushed to the hospital from the 700 block of East Ninth Street, where police and emergency responders were initially sent at 12:22 am Thursday, according to Erie County 911.

Erie police patrol officers were called to the residence on a reported stabbing and took the suspect into custody. The officers found the female victim unresponsive inside the residence, Deputy Chief Rick Lorah said Thursday morning.

No one else was inside the residence at the time, he said.

Erie police major crimes detectives were called in to investigate the stabbing. Police are holding the East Ninth Street residence as a crime scene and will be serving a search warrant on it as part of the ongoing investigation, Lorah said.

Homicides in Erie County this year

If the woman’s death is ruled a homicide following autopsy, it will be the fourth homicide in Erie County and the second in Erie so far this year.

The other homicides occurred:

• On Jan. 19, when Corry police accused 59-year-old Kellie A. Hellmann of fatally stabbing her husband, 59-year-old Paul Hellmann II, in their Essex Street home in Corry. Hellmann is awaiting her preliminary hearing on criminal homicide and other charges.

• On May 7, when Erie police accused 34-year-old Melvin D. Burnett Jr. of fatally shooting 35-year-old Deonte Tate and wounding a 31-year-old woman in the 700 block of West Fourth Street. Burnett was held for court on first-degree murder and other charges following his preliminary hearing in early June and is awaiting trial.

• On Aug. 11, when the Pennsylvania State Police accused 72-year-old Gary S. Hulihan of fatally shooting his son, 48-year-old Patrick A. Hulihan, inside a Carter Hill Road residence in Wayne Township. Hulihan is awaiting his preliminary hearing on criminal homicide and other charges.

This is a developing story. Return to GoErie.com for updates.

Contact Tim Hahn at [email protected]. Follow him on @ETNhahn.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Fatal stabbing: Suspect in custody after woman dies in Erie