COLUMBUS, Ohio — Columbus police are still searching for a suspect in a deadly stabbing near the campus of The Ohio State University.
It happened on Iuka Avenue, near Frambes and Indianola avenues. The Columbus Division of Police said that they found a 77-year-old woman, later identified as Emily Foster, dead from stab wounds around 4 p.m. on Saturday, about an hour after the Ohio State and Youngstown State game wrapped up.
A neighbor called 911 saying she heard Foster on the phone asking for help, then the neighbor found Foster dead in her off-campus condo.
“She was stabbed with a knife,” a neighbor explained to dispatchers in a 911 call.
Friends describe Foster as kind and smart and they are in shock about her death.
“I was just horrified,” said Curt Steiner. "Very kind, very smart. Somebody who is a lovely person who cares about everybody else and doesn't care about herself. Love the neighborhood, in fact, she wrote a book about the neighborhood and the university district at large."
Foster worked for Steiner for about 15 years before she retired.
She was a writer, working as an editor for Columbus Monthly and communications for Ohio State.
“When we worked together at Ohio State, she was not innately a big sports fan. When you work at Ohio State and in the communications department, this is something you have to work on,” Steiner joked.
Foster was married to an Ohio State professor. He died in 2014. Steiner said Foster loved travelling and writing, but loved her University District neighborhood the most.
“I think a lot of history goes with her. Luckily some of it is published,” Steiner said.
Stabbing deaths are rare, though there were two over the weekend.
Columbus police said 19-year-old Selena Edwards was stabbed to death on Saturday in the 4000 block of Refugee Road.
There have been 110 homicides in the city of Columbus so far this year. Of those, just 10 were caused by stabbing.
Steiner said he and Foster's neighbors are working together to find a way to honor their friend.
“She worked for me, but I looked up to her,” Steiner said.