CHICAGO (NewsNation Now) — The grueling murder of a woman in New York City has the community rallying in her name to stop the violence.
Assamad Nash, 25, was charged Monday with the murder and burglary of 35-year-old Christina Lee. According to prosecutors, Lee was dropped off in front of her apartment just after 4 a.m. Sunday after a night out. Nash followed Lee undetected into her sixth-floor walk-up residence in Chinatown.
Lee was found fatally wounded in her bathtub about 4:30 a.m. Investigators found about 40 stab wounds across her body.
When the police arrived, Nash allegedly imitated the voice of a woman to encourage authorities to leave. He then tried to flee down a fire escape before being taken into custody.
According to court records, Nash, a homeless man, was out on supervised release after being arrested three times in four months for a slew of charges that include assault and vandalism.
Officials including New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams denounced Lee’s killing as the latest in a string of unprovoked attacks on people of Asian descent.
A rally was held Monday in the wake of Lee’s death to speak out against violent hate crimes victimizing Asian-Americans.
Several dozen neighborhood residents and their supporters chanted “Enough is enough!” at the rally. The news of Lee’s killing raises concerns about bail reform and the lack of help for the homeless in the city.
“We are scared and this is just a devastating tragedy,” said one protestor.
Lee worked as a senior creative producer at Splice, an online platform for digital music. She was a graduate of Rutgers University and had previously worked for companies including Marriott and the shoe retailer Toms, according to her LinkedIn page.
Police have not classified Lee’s death as a hate crime, but Adams said police are continuing to investigate.