ST. LOUIS — It was a tough Thanksgiving for people who live near Riverview and Church Street in north St. Louis.
"No, it's really not the same. I'm mad. I'm mad about the whole situation," Dalberta Johnson said.
A furious Johnson cannot believe her 91-year-old neighbor, who lived across the street for 70 years, is no longer here.
"She was a very nice person. She was good to the community. She had a lot of help around here. Everybody knew her," Johnson said.
Police said around 4 Wednesday afternoon, firefighters first went to the home in the Baden area to check out a fire. A person was also reported to be trapped in the home.
Firefighters put out the flames and found the elderly woman dead.
"She was a very spunky person. She didn't need know help. She had a lot of energy. I often saw her working in her yard and walking around our neighborhood. I believe they found her dead in her bedroom. It's very upsetting," Johnson said.
Johnson can't believe it happened to her friend whom she drove around to run errands the day before.
"Yeah, we went to take care of her business and then we came back home. She was upset so I stayed with her for awhile. She was upset about somebody came in and stole some of her things, " Johnson said.
5 On Your Side has also learned that the elderly woman had a son and was a grandmother.
"I'm heartbroken for her family because it's kind of hard to be with somebody and to come back and find out they're gone. That's really hard for anybody," Johnson said.
"All I can say is it was a horrible thing. She was a nice lady who didn't bother anybody," another stunned neighbor said.
On Thursday workers boarded up several windows on the woman's house.
Right now, it's still not known what exactly happened inside the victim's home. Investigators call her death suspicious. They're asking anyone who knows anything about the homicide to call the St. Louis Police Department.
In the meantime, Dalberta Johnson and other neighbors pray for an arrest.
"I hope they find out whoever did this because she didn't deserve this. It just wasn't right," Johnson said.