BY MARIE McCAIN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COLERAIN TOWNSHIP -- The tears flowed down Deborah Howell's face Tuesday as she spoke of her neighbor and friend, 58-year-old Stella Ann Abbott.
"She always thought of us," Mrs. Howell said. "We tried to look out for each other, but no one would have ever expected this to happen."
Mrs. Abbott, known as Ann to her friends, died early Tuesday as fire gutted her bilevel home at 9908 Crusader Drive in Colerain Township.
A more than 20-year resident of Crusader Drive, she was well-liked.
Many of her neighbors knew she was disabled and lived alone. They helped repair her car, did lawn work for her when it was warm, shoveled her driveway during the winter and listened when she needed to talk.
And appreciative of the way they cared for her, Mrs. Abbott tried to be there for them as well.
"My mother died about two months ago," Mrs. Howell said Tuesday. "Ann took her place. She would call and talk to me.
"She didn't really cook anymore, but she would have food sent over -- a pizza, something like that. She was wonderful."
"Like family'
Other neighbors were also saddened by Mrs. Abbott's death.
"This is so unbelievable," said Jerri Ayers, whose youngest son sometimes shoveled Mrs. Abbott's driveway.
"We cared about her. We didn't know what to do," said Laura Smith.
"We were like family. I've known her for 21 years. We've exchanged Christmas gifts. I've given her pictures of my kids. . . . I just hope she didn't suffer," Mrs. Howell added.
Authorities were called to the fire shortly before 4 a.m., but there was little they could do.
It was not known how long the fire had burned, but firefighters found flames shooting through the roof and the front windows of the house. Damage was estimated at $120,000.
Mrs. Abbott, who had heart problems and used oxygen tanks to help her breathe, had trouble walking. She never made it outside; her body was found in the basement of the home.
She had fallen asleep on the couch in the living room. The flames apparently caused the first floor to fall into the basement, officials said, adding that the results of an autopsy were pending.
As of Tuesday afternoon, no cause had been found. Officials suspected the blaze started in the lower level of the house.
The oxygen tanks were not a factor in the blaze, officials said. Hamilton County sheriff's detectives were also called to the scene early Tuesday. At least one neighbor reported seeing a man standing in the rear of the Abbott home before the fire.
In addition, a telephone box on the side of a home across the street from the Abbott home was vandalized shortly before the blaze.
A spokesman for the sheriff's office would neither confirm nor deny specifics of the investigation.
Also killed in the blaze was Mrs. Abbott's dog, Toby, a gray, medium-sized terrier.
She had bought Toby this summer after a visit to the animal shelter. Neighbors said she immediately took to Toby because he was blind in one eye.
He stayed close by her side and usually slept on the floor near her.
Mrs. Abbott had four children. Two live in Greater Cincinnati, another is in Florida, and the residence of the fourth was not available.
