By Robin Culverwell

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (CBS) — Authorities have released the names of the two women stabbed to death Monday morning in Atlantic City, and are revealing a few more details about the gruesome incident.

The victims — a mother and daughter from Scarborough, Ontario, Canada — have been identified as 80-year-old Po Lin Wan and 47-year-old Alice Mei See Leung.

Court records state that Wan died trying to help her daughter during an attempted purse snatching. Wan, the mother, was stabbed in her lower torso; her daughter suffered a stab wound to the heart with a 12-inch butcher knife.

A passing police officer witnessed the attack near Pacific and Michigan Avenues and tried to stop it. He arrested 44-year-old Antoinette Pelzer at the scene (see related story).

She is now charged with two counts of murder, robbery, and other offenses. She is being held in lieu of $1.5 million “full cash” bail (another related story).

The suspect’s aunt says Pelzer is mentally ill (another related story).