Simon Martial, 61, faces second-degree murder charges for allegedly pushing Michelle Go in front of a New York City subway train on Saturday.
It looks like Go did not provoke Martial or “had any interaction” with him.
NBC New York reported Martial has a criminal history with “multiple prior arrests” and was on parole. The police also said he “was experiencing homelessness at the time of the assault.”
Another woman told police Martial “approached her” before Go’s death. She feared for her life:
“He approaches her and he gets in her space. She gets very, very alarmed,” Assistant Chief Jason Wilcox said, describing the earlier encounter. “She tries to move away from him and he gets close to her, and she feels that he was about to physically push her onto the train. As she’s walking away she witnesses the crime where he pushes our other victim in front of the train.”
Unfortunately, before the facts came to light, people tried to politicize Go’s death by connecting it to the anti-Asian crimes in New York:
Saturday’s attack against Go, who was of Asian descent, also raised concerns amid a rise in anti-Asian hate crimes in New York and around the country. Police officials said the killing, including whether it was a hate crime, was under investigation, but noted that the first woman Martial allegedly approached was not Asian. Martial is Black.“This latest attack causing the death of an Asian American woman in the Times Square subway station is particularly horrifying for our community,” Margaret Fung, executive director of the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, said. She said the community was still mourning the Dec. 31 death of Yao Pan Ma, a Chinese immigrant who was attacked in April while collecting cans in East Harlem.“These attacks have left Asian Americans across the city and across the country feeling vulnerable and they must stop,” Fung said in a statement.
How about we wait for facts before using a person for your agenda?
Martial told reporters as police escorted him that he killed Go: “Yeah because I’m God. Yes I did. I’m God. I can do it.”
Martial also claimed Go stole his jacket.
Go worked as a senior manager at Deloitte, a consulting firm. She spent her free time helping people like Martial:
But the “wonderful,’’ “kind’’ 40-year-old woman was also known for her volunteerism over the past decade with the New York Junior League, where she helped those struggling to get and stay on their feet, including the homeless.“Michelle’s focus populations were seniors, recovering homeless, immigrants, and under resourced and academically struggling elementary and middle school kids and their parents,’’ a Junior League rep told The Post in an e-mail Sunday.Go worked on one committee with “the goal of empowering adults and young adults on the path to independent success,’’ the league said.“She helped them prepare to enter or re-enter the workforce by developing their professional skills of resume writing, interviewing, and networking, and by making sound decisions in matters of personal finance.”
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