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Christina Yuna Lee: Asian woman, 35, fatally stabbed by homeless man who followed her home

The homeless man Assamad Nash stalked her, following her into her house and stabbed her brutally in a bathtub at her home

CHINATOWN, MANHATTAN: An Asian woman was stabbed to death inside her Chinatown apartment early Sunday, February 13, after her alleged killer followed her home. Christina Yuna Lee, the 35-year-old victim, was followed by her killer on the street as well as inside her Chrystie Street apartment building in Chinatown. 

In the surveillance footage obtained from the building owner, the suspect, Assamad Nash, is seen following closely behind her as she opens the front door and strolls into the hallway. He is then seen following her into her apartment and ultimately killing her. Surveillance footage, caught the last final moment of Yuna Lee. She was knifed to death by the homeless serial criminal who was free on bail. Incidents targeting Asians rose by 361 percent, from 28 in 2020 to 129 by December 2021, reports the NYPD. Officials said that in the 503 total hate crimes in 2021, the NYPD made 249 arrests, representing a 106 percent increase from 2020.

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Minutes after the Nash entered her apartment, a neighbor across the hallway of the victim’s sixth-floor apartment at 111 Chrystie Street called 911 around 4.30 am after hearing her screams during the brutal stabbing, law-enforcement sources said.

According to a report by New York Post, the owner of the building said, “We’ve got cameras on every floor and in the front here. She got out of a cab right here and he followed her. He grabbed the front door just before it closed. He followed her all the way up, hanging back, staying one floor behind her all the way up to the sixth floor.Then, he waited until her door was just about closed and he went in.”

Yuna Lee was found in her bathtub “bleeding from multiple wounds to the body”  while her alleged killer was discovered hiding under a bed, according to an NYPD spokesman. FDNY medics pronounced the victim dead at 5:55 am. Cops found a bloody knife in the apartment and believe it came from Yuna Lee’s own kitchen, NYPD said, adding that both Nash and the victim were stabbed. The killer, 25, who is a homeless career criminal with three open cases and a record of several escapes from police custody allegedly tried to flee the grisly scene via the fire escape before barricading himself inside. One cop who was on the roof at the time spotted Nash on the fire escape and trying to flee, the sources said. He spooked him into going back inside the apartment where he was found hiding under a bed.

Police even tried using a sledgehammer at one point but were initially unable to get inside prompting the NYPD’s Emergency Service Unit to bust down the door. Nash was due in court on March 3 in relation to his previous arrest. Eight criminal records, most of which are related to subway crimes exist in his name. Nash resisted arrest when he assaulted a man on the subway on September 28 and was arrested by the police on January 6 for destroying property, without paying bail.

"This all could have been avoided," Lee's landlord, Brian Chin, told reporters on Feb 13. "This guy should never have been out of the street. And it's DA Alvin Bragg playing politics with people's lives and the Asian community has been hurt. To have a DA who has won those horrific crimes right on his doorstep. And he doesn't even bother to show up. It's disgraceful." "This is just so horrific on so many levels," Chin said. "She did not do anything wrong. She did not deserve this."

Who was Christina Yuna Lee?

The victim, Yuna Lee,  who was Asian, was a digital producer and previously lived in New Jersey. She was a freelance advertising creative from New Jersey who has spearheaded campaigns for brands including Equinox and Google friends and neighbors said. “She’s from New Jersey, been here less than a year,” the building’s owner said to NYPD  “Such a sweet girl.” 

“So much blood,” the building’s owner said. “My wife said I should call someone to clean all the blood but I’m going to clean it up myself. It’s the least I can do for that poor girl.” One of Yuna Lee’s sixth-floor neighbors who called 911 recalled the victim’s desperate pleas for help. “She was calling for help, screaming for help. I woke up to it. It was awful,” the 21-year-old neighbor said. “‘Help me! Call 911’ – that’s exactly what she said over and over and over again.”

Crime in the city has continued to spike, with overall crime having increased 41.65 percent, robbery up nearly 35 percent, and violent felonies up 13.3 percent through February 6 from the same time last year.