Neighbors react to stabbing death of elderly woman in North Philadelphia: "I'm going to miss her"
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The man accused of murdering 83-year-old Dolores Robinson has been identified as her neighbor. Philadelphia police said 47-year-old Isaiah Rahatt is facing multiple charges, including murder.
"I'm going to miss her so much," said a neighbor, who didn't want to be identified.
Neighbors of Robinson are heartbroken after learning she was stabbed in the neck on her front porch Wednesday.
It happened around 8 p.m. in the 2900 block of North 27th Street.
A woman CBS Philadelphia spoke to off camera said she's been Robinson's neighbor for the past 50 years. She said Robinson was not just her friend but more like family.
"Very quiet, didn't bother nobody. Just a sweet person," she said. "All I want you to know is that she was a very sweet person, a very good neighbor, just like a sister. I have sisters and brothers and I couldn't find no better person than her."
Several of Robinson's neighbors have described her as a nice, kind and pleasant woman who cared for and checked on people in the community.
It makes the announcement of the arrest in her murder all the more shocking.
"He was a next-door neighbor," Ernest Ransom, with the Philadelphia Police Department, said.
Ransom said Rahatt lived directly next to Robinson. Rahatt is now in police custody.
"Isaiah exits his home again, they are neighbors and follows her inside her home," Ransom said. "While inside Ms. Robinson's house, a struggle ensued. Eventually, they ended up back on Ms. Robinson's porch, where she was fatally stabbed in the neck and shot with a BB gun."
Robinson was shot with a BB gun in the head and hand, Ransom said. He also said Rahatt has a long criminal history that includes a 2023 arrest for aggravated assault but he couldn't share if the two had issues in the past.
Police also said officers were called to that block several times in the past because of issues neighbors were having with Rahatt but it's unclear if Ms. Robinson was one of the neighbors who called.
Robinson's friend said she didn't know if the two had any issues but she said there's nothing Robinson could've done to deserve to be killed.
"I just don't know why. I don't know why. There's nothing I can do because she's gone," she said.