A suspect has been apprehended after allegedly carjacking an 80-year-old dog walker, leaving her fatally injured and then fatally stabbing her dog, according to police.

James K. Hayes, a 48-year-old Seattle resident, was located and apprehended Thursday morning in the murder of 80-year-old Ruth Dalton.

Police anticipate he will be charged with first-degree murder, murder during the commission of a robbery and first-degree animal cruelty. He has eight prior felony convictions -- including a vehicular homicide conviction from 1993 -- and a history of mental health issues.

Police reported that the suspect was found with a blood-stained knife upon his arrest.

Police identified the suspect after a 911 call reported an individual harming a dog. An animal control officer responded to the scene and discovered a dog that had been stabbed to death. The dog was wearing a tag identifying its owner, and the victim's car was found nearby.

Crime scene investigators were able to lift fingerprints from the victim's phone, which was located in the car, and identify the suspect.

Seattle Police responded to a report of a carjacking on Wednesday and found a civilian rendering aid to a woman who was lying injured on the road.

Law enforcement officers took over emergency medical care until Seattle Fire Department personnel arrived and assumed responsibility. Sadly, the victim succumbed to her injuries on Wednesday, authorities confirmed.

Eyewitnesses subsequently informed investigators that they had observed a physical altercation between the woman and the suspect inside the moving vehicle. The vehicle then veered off the road, and the struggle continued with the suspect attempting to forcibly remove the victim from the vehicle as she resisted, according to police reports.

One witness then halted their vehicle in the roadway and approached to assist the woman. The suspect then brandished a knife. The witness, upon seeing the knife, retreated and retrieved a stick or bat before returning to attempt to aid the victim, police reports indicate.

The car then commenced moving across the road and collided with two parked vehicles. During this crash, the woman was struck. The suspect fled the scene, leaving the victim on the roadway.

Police believe the suspect then drove to a park, attacked the dog with a knife, and fled on foot.

"We express our gratitude to the community for the heroic actions of passers-by who happened to witness this event and attempted to intervene," Eric Barden, the deputy chief of the Seattle Police Department, stated during a press conference.

Law enforcement officials are currently investigating how the suspect gained access to the vehicle prior to the carjacking. The police do not believe the suspect and the victim were acquainted and consider the incident to be a random act.

At least two canines were present inside the vehicle, one of which managed to escape.

"This is a horrific tragedy where a cherished member of our community, a vibrant and active 80-year-old, was taken from her family, friends, and our community by this senseless act of violence," Barden stated.