Police charged the suspect, James M. Day, 66, with murder. His address was not immediately available.

When the death was initially reported, the caller told a dispatcher, “There was a homicide at this location. [Her] chest is open.”

“Medical and police are both en route,” a dispatcher said.

Moments later, the dispatcher said the caller was “screaming that someone was dead.”

Police were sent to the apartment building, surrounded by businesses on a busy roadway at 3118 W. Sylvania Ave., just before 9:30 a.m.

When they arrived, they found Joan Annette Watson, 49, dead in her second-story apartment.

Police provided few details, but sources said one of the victim’s breasts was cut off and found on a counter and her abdomen was sliced open.

Steve Kahle, a Lucas County coroner’s investigator, declined to discuss specifics, but said, “This is a very graphic homicide.”

He also described it as “disturbing.”

“I’ve been doing this for 20 years, and this is probably in the top five [most graphic homicides],” Mr. Kahle said.