A woman who was fatally stabbed in Fife has been identified. Suspect appears in court

A woman who was fatally stabbed Sunday in Fife has been identified as 42-year-old Sarah Mercer.

The Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office released her name Monday.

Fife Police Chief Peter Fisher said officers responded to a report of a physical altercation about 2 p.m. Sunday at a home in the 4000 block of 61st Avenue East.

They found the woman inside with serious injuries and called for medical help, but she died at the scene.

Police took a 54-year-old man at the scene into custody and arrested him on suspicion of second-degree murder.

In Pierce County Superior Court on Monday, deputy prosecutor Jared Ausserer asked that the suspect be held until Wednesday while the state makes a charging decision.

Commissioner Meagan Foley agreed to hold him in lieu of $1 million bail, pending his arraignment.

The News Tribune does not generally name suspects before they have been formally charged with a crime.

Fisher said the man and the woman knew each other.

Asked about their relationship, the motive for the stabbing and who lived at the home, Fisher said investigators were looking into those things.

No one else was injured, and no one else has been arrested, he said.

This story was originally published October 1, 2018 at 12:25 PM.