Cheryl Dawson did all she could to protect herself from her estranged husband.

        The 37-year-old took out restraining orders last year against her husband in Hebron, where she lived, and Cincinnati, where she worked.

Mr. Dawson

Mrs. Dawson

        In Boone County, there was an outstanding warrant for his arrest on domestic violence charges.

        Mrs. Dawson's co-workers received memos telling them to call police if they saw him.

        But those measures weren't enough to save the mother of three.

        Police say Robin Scott Dawson, 40, of Newport fatally stabbed Mrs. Dawson in broad daylight Monday — just after 4:30 p.m. — along the 100 block of West Fourth Street.

        Police believe Mr. Dawson had been stalking her throughout the day and that Mrs. Dawson may have placed a call to Cincinnati police earlier in the day. Police responded to a 911 call from a woman they think was Mrs. Dawson. The woman reported Mr. Dawson's whereabouts, but police could not locate him.

        Mr. Dawson stabbed Mrs. Dawson multiple times, said Capt. Vince Demasi, commander of the Cincinnati Police Department's criminal investigations section.

Cincinnati homicide Sgt. Lisa Thomas and Lt. Col. Ron Twitty (right) listen as Capt. Vince Demasi announces the arrest of Robin Dawson in the Fourth Street stabbing death of his estranged wife, Cheryl Dawson (Glenn Hartong photo) | ZOOM |

        Mr. Dawson is being held without bond at the Campbell County Detention Center in Newport, where he is charged with murder.

        Capt. Demasi stressed this was not a random attack.

        “We feel that downtown is an extremely safe area,” he said. “But the bottom line is, we just can't be everywhere all the time.”

        Mrs. Dawson's mother, Lorrayne Mainer of Springfield Township. said the stabbing might have been prompted by her daughter's recent decision to divorce Mr. Dawson. She said her daughter kicked him out more than a year ago after he refused to get counseling.

        Mrs. Mainer said Mrs. Dawson's personality dramatically changed over the last few years. She described him as a vagrant who didn't work.

        “We think he got on drugs because his personality just totally changed real fast,” Mrs. Mainer said.

        Mrs. Dawson, the third of eight children, grew up in Detroit, where she attended Wayne State University. She met her husband through one of her brothers and married in 1992.

        Co-workers at Neace Lukens Insurance Agency and family say Mrs. Dawson lived for her children — ages 3, 5, and 7.

        “Her enthusiasm for her children was evident any time you talked with her,” co-worker Scott Heiser said in statement released by the company.

        “Although she was a chemical engineer by profession, she made the choice to take a less-demanding position at Neace Lukens Insurance Agency where she has worked as a financial analyst for the past five years.”

        Mr. Heiser said Mrs. Dawson attended church services three to four times a week.

        “Her faith in God was her guiding light and she attended every opportunity for worship with her children,” Mr. Heiser said.

        Mrs. Mainer described her daughter as “tiny but mighty,” but police said the 4-foot-11, 100-pound woman didn't have a chance against her attacker.

        Clerks from a nearby furniture store immediately came to Mrs. Dawson's aid, but police said she was badly wounded.

        Court records list Mr. Dawson as 5-foot-8 and 180 pounds.

        Mr. Dawson was arrested Tuesday morning at the Travelodge in Newport. He previously lived at Fairhaven Rescue Mission in Covington.

        Travelodge manager Linda Wilkening said Mr. Dawson had lived there more than a month. He shared a room that cost $210 per week.

        Enquirer reporter Jane Prendergast contributed to this report.
       

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