BATON ROUGE - A man was arrested for allegedly beating his girlfriend to death in her apartment on Renoir Avenue late last month.

The Baton Rouge Police Department said Lawrence Gaines, 46, was taken into custody Friday for his involvement in the murder of 49-year-old Kimberly Dean on June 24.

Officers responded to Dean's apartment in the 6700 block of Renoir Avenue around 10:57 p.m. on June 24 following a 911 call. Shortly after, Dean's family arrived at the scene because Gaines called them from Dean's phone, instructing them to check on her.

Upon entering, police found Dean's body in a bedroom of the apartment. An autopsy revealed Dean was killed after being struck 11 times with a blunt instrument.

Dean's family informed police about her "tumultuous relationship" with boyfriend Lawrence Gaines, whom she was reportedly trying to break up with.

Gaines and Dean had several previous run-ins with law enforcement for domestic violence, including Gaines' arrest in October 2021 for domestic abuse battery. On May 30, 2022, police asked Gaines to leave Dean's apartment complex after attempting to force himself into her residence.

The night of the murder, Dean's car was reported stolen from the parking lot of her apartment complex. The next day, police found Gaines traveling as a passenger in the stolen vehicle on I-10 West near Highland Road.

Gaines and the driver were taken into custody for questioning that night, and police said Gaines claimed not to know Dean or who owned the vehicle.

Friday, Gaines was arrested and booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on a charge of second-degree murder.

This is an ongoing investigation.