Chelsea Joan Smith, 27

Chelsea Joan Smith, a 27-year-old white woman, was fatally beaten and strangled Monday, March 16, in the 4600 block of Whitewood Avenue in Long Beach, according to authorities and Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner's records.

About 8:30 p.m., officers from the Long Beach Police Department were called to a home regarding a potential suicide, according to a news release from police. 

While officers were on their way to the home, they were told a murder may have occurred in the back unit. 

Officers arrived and "encountered a male adult suspect," police said. The man immediately surrendered to police and was taken into custody.

Police then went into the home and found Smith on the ground. Paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene. 

Coroner's records show Smith died of "homicidal asphyxiation." Prosecutors said that Smith was fatally beaten. 

Authorities said that Smith and Colin Chandler Wolters, a 35-year-old white man, lived together in at the home and were engaged. 

The two got into an altercation that "resulted in injuries to the victim's upper torso," police said.

Wolters was charged March 23 with one count of murder, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney's office.

Anyone with information is asked to call Long Beach detectives at (562) 570-7244. Those who wish to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.

Contact the Homicide Report. Follow @nicolesantacruz and @latimeshomicide on Twitter.