CINCINNATI, Ohio -- The search continues Wednesday for the man who fatally stabbed a 93-year old mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother the day before.
Ida Martin was stabbed four times Tuesday as she went on her daily walk in front of her apartment in the 1500 block of Summit Road in Roselawn. She was transported to University Hospital where she later died.
There was a feeling of outrage among neighbors who were shocked that a kind, sweet woman's life could end so brutally in broad daylight.
"To me she was a keepsake," said Cynthia Jackson, who lived across the hall from Martin's apartment. "A caring, loving woman that anybody would be happy to say she's my mother or grandmother."
Jackson said Martin was the "go-to" person in the building – the person to see when things needed to be fixed.
"Miss Martin was a great woman and for somebody to do this to her is wrong," she stated. "This is totally wrong. She wouldn't harm anybody."
John Vaulter and Stuart Tunnell stood near the murder scene Wednesday and mused about safety in the neighborhood.
Vaulter recalled a recent assault on a woman in a nearby apartment building.
"She was going to the door and heard some footsteps and a guy comes behind her, grabbed the door and pulled her purse off her arm," Vaulter said. "She fell down the steps and she broke her arm."
Tunnell said he was robbed about 10 days ago along Summit Road.
"This neighborhood is starting to get real bad," he said, adding he's going to be more careful when he goes out. "I'm not scared. Not at all. It's just the way life is today."
That's the same tactic Vaulter plans to use.
"It ain't safe nowhere," he said.
Both men had met Martin and were saddened by her death.
"That was a sweet, old lady," said Vaulter. "She would smile and laugh and never bothered anyone."
Tunnell's tone was more bitter.
"It just disgusts me," he proclaimed. "I wish I was here so I could have stopped it because the lady was 93-years old. She lived a long life, but to go out like that is cruel. It's real cruel."
Verna Walker recalled seeing Martin on her daily walks – even with a cane or walker that was needed after neck surgery in February.
"Every time she'd see you, she'd say 'Nice day,'" Walker said. "She was really a nice lady."
Dorthy Hawkins said she couldn't fall asleep Tuesday night thinking about the crime.
"This was very shocking and I just can't get over it," she stated.
Martin was a regular for Tuesday lunch at the Chili Time Restaurant on Vine Street in St. Bernard. Employees there were saddened by news of her death.
She'd been there with 15-20 members of her family just hours before she was murdered.
"I sat down and talked with her," said Becky Rhotten, who had waited on the Martin's table for nearly a decade. "She was asking about my children. She asked about my family."
Rhotten recalled how Martin would sit down and talk to anyone in the restaurant.
"She was just like your typical grandmother," Rhotten added. "She celebrated her birthday here in August."
Nicole Vidas served Ida Martin and her family on Tuesday.
"I think it's a tragedy," she said, upon learning of Martin's murder. "She was a very loyal and very sweet lady. She will be missed."
Martin was the mother of three daughters and a son, plus numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren, according to her grandson Scott.
She was four-feet, 11 inches tall and was the matriarch of their large family, he added.
"She was a sweet little lady," Scott added. "She knew she was in the twilight of her life, but she had a sound mind and loved to have friends and family members visit her."
Detectives with the Cincinnati Police Homicide Squad canvassed the neighborhood Wednesday searching for possible clues and talking with residents along Summit Road.
Anyone with information on the case is urged to call Crime Stoppers at (513) 352-3040 or text (513) 352-3050.
"Oh, please come forward," Hawkins pleaded. "You can help others if you just come forward and tell what you saw."
Cynthia Jackson added she'd love to meet the killer face-to-face.
"She was 93-years-old. She done lived her life. At least he could have let her die of natural causes," Jackson stated, while holding back tears. "Didn't nobody have to murder her. Nobody. That was unnecessary. Don't nobody ask to be killed."
Hawkins said she wants him to answer one question.
"I would ask him why he did it because to do something like that in the first place is demonic," she said in a stern voice. "It's evil. It's senseless – very senseless."
