Household of girl fatally stabbed in NYC house says police didn’t intervene, waited an hour to enter

The household of a New York girl who was adopted into her house and stabbed greater than 40 occasions has filed a lawsuit accusing law enforcement officials of idly standing by her door as she was fatally attacked.

Christina Yuna Lee, 35, died Feb. 13, 2022, in her Chinatown, Manhattan, house.

Police have that stated Assamad Nash adopted Lee into her house round 4:20 a.m., stealthily trailing her up six flights of stairs and forcing entry into her unit. As soon as inside, he repeatedly stabbed her, authorities beforehand stated. Nash has pleaded not responsible to homicide and different costs.

A criticism filed Might 12 in New York County Supreme Courtroom by Lee’s aunt and administrator of her property, Boksun Lee, accuses members of the NYPD of negligence within the gradual response and failure to supply rapid medical care.

The NYPD on Friday stated didn’t touch upon the case, citing pending litigation.

Neighbors known as 911 after listening to Lee’s screams, and a type of calls got here in at 4:22 a.m., the go well with states.

Three minutes later, two unnamed members of the NYPD from the fifth precinct, positioned about three blocks from Lee’s house, arrived to Lee’s unit and heard her shouting for assist “till she abruptly stopped screaming,” the criticism stated.

As a substitute of breaking into the unit, the officers spoke to Nash via the closed door, the criticism stated.

“Regardless of having causes to consider Ms. Lee’s life was in imminent hazard,” the officers “failed to achieve entry to Ms. Lee’s house or in any other case present her with any probably life-saving police or medical help at the moment,” the criticism stated.

Seven different members of the NYPD arrived at 5:30 a.m. — greater than an hour after a neighbor known as 911 and the primary officers heard the girl screaming, the criticism stated.

At 5:40 a.m. — one hour and 20 minutes after Lee was attacked — members of the NYPD Emergency Providers Unit compelled entry into Lee’s house, the lawsuit stated.

She was discovered fatally stabbed and pronounced useless at 5:55 a.m., based on the go well with.

The criticism stated that in and after the assault, responding NYPD members “denied and/or moderately delayed offering Ms. Lee with police help and emergency medical therapy inflicting her ache and struggling and contributing to her demise.”  

It additionally accused New York Metropolis of failing to take care of Sara D. Roosevelt Park, positioned close to Lee’s house, which had “vital public security circumstances.”

The criticism famous a stabbing demise that occurred simply exterior the park Oct. 16, 2021. Courtroom paperwork stated the “harmful circumstances” within the public park operated by town “contributed to the hurt and struggling” of Lee. 

New York Metropolis’s Authorized Division didn’t instantly return a request for remark.

The go well with alleges wrongful demise, acutely aware ache and struggling, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional misery, denial or delay of medical care, and negligent hiring, screening, retention, supervision and coaching of the officers. The go well with additional says that the defendants violated the New York State Structure in depriving Lee of her life with out due means of legislation. 

The household seeks a jury trial, punitive and unspecified compensatory damages. 

Lee, a Rutgers College graduate, was a senior artistic producer at Splice, a digital music platform, Selection reported. 

Nash, who was not named within the go well with, was charged with first-degree homicide, housebreaking and sexually motivated burglar. He pleaded not responsible in March 2022.