An elderly Abbeville woman lost her life Thursday afternoon and may have fought off an alleged robber and at the same time, protected her one-year-old grandchild who was in the house at the time she was stabbed.

The Abbeville Fire Department was called by 911 to the scene of Theresa Ardoin’s home on Martin Luther King Drive after another grandchild went to Ardoin’s door, knocked but got no response. The older grandchild, who had just gotten off the school bus, heard the one-year-old baby crying.

When the fire department arrived, they found Ardoin on the floor in the back of the house with multiple stab wounds. She was pronounced dead on scene. The baby was not hurt.

The crime is said to have occurred around 2:30 p.m. She lived next to Pleasant Green Baptist Church.

Neighbors were still gathered near her house three hours after she was found.

“The killer could be watching with us,” said one lady who was by her house. “You don’t know. I’m locking my door. Any home could be next.”

It is unknown if the Abbeville Police Department has any leads as of 7 p.m. on Thursday.

Abbeville Councilman Wayne Landry was out of town when he got the phone call about her death. Landry said he has known Ardoin for 30-plus years. His mom and her were friends.

“This is a tragedy,” said Landry Thursday night. “I am sadden and heartbroken.”

He said he will be asking Abbeville Police Chief Tony Hardy to beef up patrol in the area and, also, put a lot of man-hours into solving this murder.

“This happened during the day. In daylight,” he said. “Someone had to have seen something. Someone came home with blood on their shirt. Someone knows something and needs to come forward.”

Ardoin has lived at the same location for more than 30 years. She was widow, a mother and a “great” person added Landry.

“She never hurt anyone,” Landry said.