St. Paul police are investigating a homicide in a downtown apartment building after a woman was found dead there Friday morning.

After a 911 caller asked for a welfare check on the woman, fire department paramedics, followed by police officers, entered the apartment in the Press House building shortly after 9:30 a.m. Friday. They found the woman deceased with obvious signs of trauma on her body, police department spokesman Mike Ernster said Friday night.

Officers summoned homicide detectives, who were still at the scene at 345 Cedar St. on Friday night.

So far this year, police have been called to the Press House apartments 292 times. Ernster said that, in general, apartment buildings tend to have a higher number of police calls than the average St. Paul address, though he noted that the Press House “has had its challenges.”

The apartment building previously housed the offices of the Pioneer Press before it underwent a conversion four years ago as income-restricted housing.

Police said the Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office will conduct an autopsy to positively identify the victim and determine her cause of death.

The case marks the 30th homicide this year in St. Paul.

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