Minnesota police officers made a grisly discovery when they responded to a report of a stabbing incident on Wednesday afternoon, locating a woman's decapitated body in Shakopee, about 25 miles south of Minneapolis, according to police and local news reports. 

Several people witnessed the attack, Fox 9 reported, citing the search warrant. The report said the victim had been in a long-term relationship with the suspect and domestic abuse had been a problem. 

America Mafalda Thayer, 55, was pronounced dead at the scene of stab wounds. Alexis Saborit, a 42-year-old man who police say knew the victim, was apprehended at the scene on suspicion of second-degree murder

INDIANA MAN CHARGED WITH MURDER AND ARSON AFTER ALLEGEDLY DECAPITATING WOMAN, SETTING HER APARTMENT ON FIRE

Alexis Saborit, 42, was arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder after a woman's decapitated body was found in Shakopee, Minnesota.  (Shakopee Police Department)

Police officers found the decapitated body and head lying next to a vehicle when they arrived, as well as a large knife, shirt, and bloody shoes in a nearby trashcan, according to an affidavit obtained by KTSP

"I thought I saw a body on the pavement, but I wasn't overly sure," Carrol Erath, who lives nearby the scene, told the local news outlet. "It's shocking, I just couldn't believe somebody would be so brutal to somebody else."

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Investigators believe that Saborit knew Thayer and it wasn't a random attack, Shakopee police said. Saborit is being held at Scott County Jail as of Thursday evening. 

Fox News' Edmund DeMarche contributed to this report