By Brenda Starkey
Chronicle correspondent

     An 56-year-old woman was found dead Wednesday, Nov. 14, in her Republic apartment living room, according to police officials.
     Her identity has not been released.
     Republic Police officers responded to a deceased person call on Keller Street at 12:30 p.m., according to a statement from Mark Baker, Washington State Patrol public affairs officer.
     Police chief Nick Merritt and Ferry County coroner Mike Sandona said they considered the death suspicious and called the WSP to investigate.
     The woman, whose identity is being withheld pending notification of next of kin, lived alone, and her body was discovered by a friend, Sandona said.
     There were things knocked over and a meat clever on the floor near the front door, Sandona said, so the patrol was called in to investigate.
     WSP detectives and the patrol's crime lab response team arrived in Republic later the afternoon of Nov. 14 and began their investigation, Baker said.
     Cause of death will be determined by the Spokane County medical examiner's office. WSP detectives will continue to investigate circumstances of the death, according to a WSP statement.