Neighbors remember woman slain in Port Richmond

Neighbors said a 66-year-old woman found slain in the basement of her daughter's home in the Port Richmond section of the city was a friendly lady they called "Nana."

Marian Frew was found dead by family members about 10:45 a.m. Sunday at the bottom of the basement stairs in a two-story rowhouse in the 3400 block of Weikel Street. She had been stabbed in the neck, police said.

James Geier, who lives about three doors from the house where Frew's body was found, said Frew was a "very nice person." He said she would barbecue with her family on the sidewalk in front of their home about every other weekend.

"When they used to have the barbecues, I would sit out with her and talk," Geier said. "We used to have a good time."

Geier described Frew as a petite woman with gray hair. He said he had known her since he moved there about three years ago.

Neighbors said Frew did not live with her daughter, whom they know only as Donna. They said Frew had an apartment outside of the neighborhood but she would often spend time visiting the daughter and her children, two boys and a girl. Neighbors said the family had lived on the block for about three years.

Elizabeth Glasgow, another neighbor, said she and others on the block had seen Frew, whom they called "Nana," on Saturday and that she appeared to be fine and in good spirits.

Glasgow said the block, which contains about 25 rowhouses on one end and a few small factories at the other, is quiet and relatively peaceful.

"We've never had any real problems here," Glasgow said. "Once in a while neighbors would have little tiffs with each other, but everybody looks after each other and after each other's homes."

An investigation was continuing, police said.