PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) – State troopers arrested a 51-year-old man Thursday on Interstate 5 in connection with the deadly beating of a woman inside a Northwest District apartment earlier this week, authorities said.
Louis J. Chlumak, of Portland, was taken into custody around 3:20 p.m. along I-5 near milepost 236. Oregon State Police stopped Chlumak’s car before handing him over to Portland police detectives. He was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center on suspicion of second-degree murder and unlawful use of a weapon.
Officers and firefighters initially found 63-year-old Vernetta G. Fish dead inside an apartment on the 600 block of Northwest 18th Avenue around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday after receiving a report of an assault.
The medical examiner determined Fish died from blunt-force trauma. Family members have been notified and asked for privacy.
Police ask anyone with details about the case who has not spoken with investigators to contact Portland detectives at homicidetips@police.portlandoregon.gov or 503-823-0479, referencing case number 26-264223.
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