Officials ID 78-year-old woman who was fatally stabbed in Minneapolis

Authorities have identified the 78-year-old woman who was fatally stabbed in south Minneapolis on March 17. 

Elena Maria Mantini, 78, of Minneapolis, died in the operating room of a stab wound to the chest, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office reports. 

Police said the stabbing was reported at 9:40 a.m. in the area of Chicago Avenue and East Franklin Avenue. The suspect fled the scene before police arrived. 

Minneapolis Police Department spokesman John Elder told Bring Me The News no arrests have been made, but "we have made headway in the case."

"We believe it is related to another stabbing that happened in the area minutes earlier," Elder said.

Note: Some of the details provided in this story are based on the police’s latest version of events, and may be subject to change.