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Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Wednesday charged Assamad Nash for the fatal stabbing of Christina Yuna Lee on Feb. 13 in New York City’s Chinatown.
Bragg charged Nash, 25, with first-degree murder, first-degree burglary and first-degree burglary as a sexually motivated felony.
“Today’s indictment marks the beginning of our pursuit of justice in the name of Christina Yuna Lee, a bright and beloved New Yorker who should not have had her life cut short in such a violent, shocking manner in her own home,” said Bragg.
“Ms. Yuna Lee’s death not only devastated her loved ones, but struck fear into the hearts of our [Asian American Pacific Islander] neighbors, who have already suffered far too much pain in recent years. All New Yorkers deserve to be safe and secure, and we will ensure accountability for this senseless murder.”
This mug shot shows Assamad Nash, 25, who was taken into custody over the fatal stabbing of Christina Yuna Lee inside her sixth-floor walk-up Chinatown apartment on Manhattan’s Lower East Side.
(Fox News)
Nash observed Lee, 35, approach her apartment on Chrystie Street just after 4 a.m. on Feb. 13 before following her up six fights of stairs, pushing her into her apartment and fatally stabbing her, Bragg’s office said in a press release.
DISTURBING FOOTAGE SHOWS SUSPECT TAIL CHRISTINA YUNA LEE INTO HER CHINATOWN BUILDING
Lee’s neighbors called 911 at 4:22 a.m. after hearing her scream for help. Police responded to the apartment soon after but could not immediately gain entry. Nash attempted to flee through an apartment window with a yellow kitchen knife in his hand but went back inside the apartment after seeing a police officer on the roof above him, according to Bragg’s office.
Nash allegedly tried to convince police to go away, saying, “We are OK. No one is bleeding. We don’t need help,” around 5:30 a.m., according to court documents.
Officers from the Emergency Services Unit took down the door at 5:40 a.m. and found Lee’s blood-soaked body in the bathroom naked from the waist up and covered in more than 40 stab wounds.
Nash, who has an extensive criminal history, was allegedly cowering under Lee’s bed with a stab wound to his torso and cuts on his hands and shoulder, a criminal complaint says.
At 5:50 a.m., Nash attempted to place blame on a different suspect, telling police, “I tried to help my friend out. I was trying to help this female getting hurt by other people. I was trying to help the lady. The dude stabbed us up, the dude stabbed me in the leg. I was trying to protect the lady. The dude went out on the balcony. He escaped too.”
Christina Yuna Lee’s landlord on Chrystie Street.
(Fox News)
The next day, Nash continued to claim that he was trying to “help” Lee escape an attacker.
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“If it’s not on video, how can they say it’s me?” he told a private investigator, according to court documents.
Lee worked as a creative producer for the music platform Splice and had moved to Manhattan less than a year prior from New Jersey.
Fox News’ Rebecca Rosenberg contributed to this report.
