A Russellville woman was beaten and murdered early Friday morning following an apparent domestic dispute.

Russellville Police Chief Chris Hargett said 25 year-old Lesley Hope Plott, Jackson Avenue, Russellville, was found murdered near her home in the 1700 block of North Jackson Avenue between 1 and 1:30 a.m. Friday.

Witnesses said the body was found in or near a ditch in front of Good Shepherd Catholic Church.

Investigators with the Russellville Police Department and the Alabama Bureau of Investigation said 33 year-old Angel Campos, of 1948 Franklin 48 Lot 13, is suspected of assaulting Plott and then attacking her with a knife.

Campos and Plott had been involved in a relationship and had recently broken up.

“The victim and defendant had left the victim’s mother’s residence sometime around 1 a.m. Friday morning,” Hargett said.

It appears Plott was taking Campos back to his residence to get his vehicle so he could go to work when an argument escalated into a physical confrontation.

The cause of death is still under investigation pending results from the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences. Investigators are processing and collecting evidence from a vehicle that was at the scene where the body and defendant were found.

Campos was flown to Huntsville Hospital after suffering from what appears to be self-inflicted wounds from a knife. He is under guarded protection at the hospital.