Port Richmond grandmother, 66, found dead at bottom of stairway, stabbed in neck

A 66-year-old grandmother was found dead at the bottom of her basement steps Sunday morning, killed while two of her grandsons slept in a second-floor bedroom of their Port Richmond home, police said.

Marion Frew's lifeless body was discovered with a stab wound to the neck at the base of the wooden stairs by her son-in-law, who was in the house when she was killed, police said. She was pronounced dead at the scene at 10:44 a.m.

"It's just really sad. She was a good grandmother," said Elizabeth Glasgow, 43, who lives a few houses down from Frew.

Frew was a kind woman who kept to herself and often stayed in the family's two-story home on Weikel Street near Tioga, neighbors said. She was always seen with her grandchildren, whom she cared for while her daughter worked nights at a Wawa store.

"She was a sweet woman," Glasgow said, adding that she was surprised that the crime happened on a "family block."

After Frew's body was found, her grandsons were rushed a few doors down to Jimmy Geier's home where the boys, ages 9 and 11, learned that their grandmother had died, he said.

Geier, 49, who is the godfather of one of the boys, said that the family has lived in the house for 13 years. He said that he helped baby-sit the children when Frew was unavailable.

"She was friendly," Geier said. "She just didn't bother with anybody."

None of Frew's relatives was home for comment yesterday.

"Nobody deserves that. I don't care if you're the worst person in the world," said a neighbor whose grandsons played with Frew's. "She will be missed."

Police yesterday knew of no motive and said that no arrests have been made.

Frew's son-in-law was being questioned last night, but police were quick to note that he was not considered a suspect.

"She was a really nice woman," Glasgow said. "I hope they find whoever did that to her."