The man who admitted to brutally killing a woman he "mercilessly stalked" up six flights of stairs before quietly slipping into her Chinatown apartment was sentenced Tuesday to 30 years to life in state prison, the Manhattan district attorney said.
Assamad Nash pleaded guilty in June to murder and burglary as a sexually motivated felony in the Feb. 13, 2022 slaying of Christina Yuna Lee. Police said he stabbed her more than 40 times in the head, neck and torso.
The 35-year-old Lee was just getting home from a Saturday night out when she was dropped off at her building on Chrystie Street — and had no idea someone was following her.
The building's landlord said that Nash "mercilessly stalked" his victim, and images obtained by NBC New York showed him following her up the stairs.
Prosecutors said that Lee was still alive when officers arrived in the building, as they could hear her cries and screams for help, but the door was barricaded.
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Emergency Services Unit personnel knocked down a steel door, but Lee went silent as officers were still trying to get into the apartment. They found Lee's body in her bathroom.
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Prosecutors say Nash tried to get out the fire escape but went back inside when he saw an officer on the roof. Cops found him under Lee's bed, and took him into custody at the scene, with the murder weapon under a dresser.
“Christina Yuna Lee was killed in an unthinkably horrific manner in her own apartment at the hands of Assamad Nash,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement after Nash's sentencing Tuesday. “Ms. Yuna Lee was a creative, kind and joyful person and her death not only devastated her family but left a lasting impact on an entire community. "I hope the resolution of this case offers comfort and a sense of justice for everyone that has been touched by Ms. Yuna Lee’s life and this tragedy. May her legacy be celebrated for years to come.”
Last year, Lee's family said they were suing New York City and the NYPD over alleged failure to intervene the night of her killing.
Her family claims they have received little information from the police department. For example, Boshun Lee, the victim's aunt, says the family learned the woman had been stabbed 40 times from the media — not from police.
Lee's family say prayers won't bring them answers about the NYPD response that night — that’s why they’ve filed the lawsuit alleging negligence.
”We have not had access to the police report itself. But we are calling to account the police department in terms of its failure to protect Christina," Charles Yoon, the family's attorney, said.
Their lawsuit claims unnamed officers responded but did not enter Lee's apartment until an hour after 911 calls from neighbors who reported hearing screaming.
“Whereas the police had ample opportunity to intervene, they did not," Yoon said.
The complaint says, "The responding NYPD members denied and/or unreasonably delayed providing Ms. Lee with police assistance and emergency medical treatment causing her pain and suffering and contributing to her death."
Spokespersons for NYC and the NYPD previously told NBC New York they don't comment on pending litigation.
Officials familiar with the case said Nash had five prior felonies and three pending court cases on various matters prior to the Lee incident.
