A Gainesville man has been charged with murder in Friday’s death of his live-in girlfriend.

Donnie Jackson Irvin, 53, is being held in the Hall County Jail. Further charges are pending and the investigation is ongoing, according to the Hall County Sheriff’s Office.

The charge was filed after sheriff’s deputies responded at 8:30 p.m. Friday to a home on Dean Street in reference to a domestic assault with injuries.

Deputies arrived on scene and found Mary Ward, 42, dead inside the house, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Irvin was present when deputies arrived and was taken into custody.

Ward’s body will be taken Monday to the DeKalb County Medical Examiner’s Office, where an autopsy will be performed to determine the exact cause of death.