A Guy in New York City Admitted to Stalking and Then Stabbing a Woman 40 Times, Which Made People Fear the Next Attack Would Be Against Asians

As of today, a man in New York City has pleaded guilty to several charges related to the killing of a woman in her Chinatown apartment in 2022. He is accused of stalking her and cutting her 40 times.

NYC DA Alvin L. Bragg Jr. said in a news release that Assamad Nash, who is 27 years old, pleaded guilty on June 18 to one count of second-degree murder and one count of first-degree burglary as a sexually motivated felony in New York State Supreme Court. On July 30, he will be given a sentence of 30 years to life in state jail.

The terrifying event happened when 35-year-old Christina Yuna Lee went into her apartment building near Grand Street and Chrystie Street at 4:20 a.m. on February 13, 2022, according to court papers cited in the release and Nash’s guilty plea.

Nash went with Lee into the building early that morning and up six flights of stairs to her apartment. The report says Nash ran up behind Lee, forced his way into her apartment, and tried to sexually attack her.

At the time, the New York Post got disturbing surveillance footage of the event. It showed Nash walking about 6 feet away from Lee in a tight hallway as she made her way to her apartment.

The neighbors of Lee called 911 at 4:22 a.m. because they heard a fight and Lee screaming for help, according to the statement. When New York police got at Lee’s apartment a few minutes later, they heard her screams but couldn’t get inside.

The release says that Nash tried to leave the flat through the fire escape but turned around when he saw an officer on the roof above him and went back inside. Around 5:40 a.m., police broke down the apartment door and found Nash hiding under Lee’s bed. They also found a bloody kitchen knife hidden behind the chest.

The release says that police found Lee in the bathroom with “at least 40 stab wounds, including to her head, neck, and torso.” It was said that Lee was dead at the spot.

People earlier reported that Nash was first charged with first-degree murder and two counts of burglary in criminal court.

The killing of Lee happened about a month after the death of Michelle Go, another Asian American woman. Go was killed when she was pushed in front of a train car, which made people fear attacks on Asian Americans, according to the New York Times. The news source said that at that point, the number of hate crimes against Asians reported to the NYPD had doubled from the same time last year.

Lee’s family and friends wrote on a GoFundMe page set up after her death that she was killed in a “senseless act of violence” after coming home from a night out with friends.

“Christina was full of life,” Angela Yujin Lee, who organized the event, wrote for the Lee family. “She was full of joy, love, and positivity.” In everything her friends did, she was there for them.

“She did everything she could to show the people she loved that she was there for them, and she never asked for anything in return,” the statement said. “Her family, friends, and community will be left to deal with the pain of her death for years to come.”

DA Bragg thanked the police and other investigation teams for their work on the case when they announced the guilty plea.

“Today, Assamad Nash was held responsible for killing Christina Yuna Lee for no reason after following her into her own home,” he said in the statement. The people who cared about Ms. Yuna Lee lost a daughter, sister, and friend. My thoughts are with her family and the people in our town as they continue to get better after this terrible event.

Source: PEOPLE