Man pleads responsible to homicide after following girl to her NYC condo and killing her

NEW YORK – A person pleaded responsible to manslaughter Tuesday for brutally stabbing a lady to loss of life after “mercilessly stalking” her from the road to her Manhattan condo constructing.

Assamad Nash, 27, additionally pleaded responsible to sexually motivated theft within the assault. February 13, 2022 to Christina Yuna Lee, 35 years previousduring which police say Nash stabbed the sufferer greater than 40 instances within the neck and torso.

“Right this moment Assamad Nash was discovered accountable for taking the mindless lifetime of Christina Yuna Lee after following her to her own residence,” District Lawyer Bragg mentioned in an announcement. Bragg mentioned his ideas “along with his household and our neighborhood as they proceed to get well from this tragedy.

Prosecutors mentioned Lee was returning house from a Saturday night time stroll when Nash adopted her to her constructing on Chrystie Road in Chinatown and climbed six flights of stairs to her condo. The property proprietor mentioned Nash “mercifully” beat up his sufferer, and we obtained footage from our sister community NBC New York They confirmed him following her up the steps.

When Lee entered the condo, Nash pushed his method in and tried to sexually assault her, prosecutors mentioned.

“She opened the door and he walked in proper behind her. She did not even know he was there,” Lee’s proprietor, Brian Chin, beforehand advised NBC New York.

Lee’s screams echoed by means of the constructing shortly after 4 a.m., prompting two younger girls who dwell throughout the corridor to name 911. Officers arrived on the constructing inside three minutes.

Prosecutors mentioned Lee was nonetheless alive when officers arrived on the constructing, as they may hear her screaming and calling for assist, however the door was locked. Police needed to break down the condo’s metal door to achieve entry, and entered as Lee fell silent. They discovered Nash hiding underneath a mattress and Lee lifeless within the toilet with at the least 40 stab wounds; The suspected homicide weapon was underneath a dresser.

Officers aware of the case mentioned Nash had 5 prior felonies and three pending court docket instances on varied issues.

Leaders in New York’s Asian American neighborhood feared the killing of Lee, who was Korean American, was a part of a wave of anti-Asian violence in the course of the coronavirus pandemic, however in the long run Nash was not charged with a hate crime.

Simply 5 weeks earlier than the alleged homicide, Nash was caught blocking dozens of MetroCard machines in early January. He was launched with out bail and launched underneath supervision, however was not ordered to bear a psychological analysis by psychological well being professionals, which might have led to the advice {of professional} therapy.

Nash, who was beforehand discovered unfit to face trial after a psychiatric analysis, is anticipated to be sentenced to 30 years in jail when he’s sentenced on July 30. Lawyer data for Nash was not instantly out there.