Filipina-American pushed to her death in the New York subway train

Date:

Woman who was shoved to death in NY subway was a Pinay

The woman who was killed after she was pushed into the path of an oncoming train in New York City was a Filipino immigrant, reports said.

A report on the New York Post said Connie Watton was the family housekeeper of one Stephen Schwarzman, the CEO of private investment firm Blackstone, and lived in the borough of Queens in New York with her husband.

Watton, 49, was shoved by a woman who allegedly suffers from schizophrenia in front of a moving train at the Times Square station on Monday afternoon.

- Advertisement -

CNBC report identified the suspect as Melanie Liverpool, who is now held without bail after her arraignment for a murder charge on Tuesday.

Schwarzman’s son, Teddy, called Watton “one of the best people in the world” in a Facebook post cited by the New York Post.

“There aren’t really words for something like this. Connie was the sweetest, nicest, most caring woman I’ve ever met, who only did good with her life and our family was blessed to have had time with her,” he said.

Reports said Watton immigrated to the US when she was 18 years old and moved with Teddy and his sister Elizabeth when their father and mother divorced in the 1990s.

Watton served as their housekeeper, cook, and “surrogate mother” for the last three decades. According to Teddy, her only job in the US was as the Schwarzmans’ housekeeper.

Elizabeth said Watton took care of her during a taxing pregnancy, would teach her and her friends how to cook, and accepted her mother and stepfather as stand-in parents for her second wedding.

Due to the condition Watton’s attacker suffers from, Teddy called for links to mental health institutions to support people with mental disorders. —Rie Takumi/KBK, GMA News


Pinay pushed to her death in New York subway train

NEW YORK – A woman shoved a Filipina-American off a New York City subway platform into the path of an approaching train, killing the victim instantly as bystanders watched in horror, police said Thursday.

The victim was pushed onto the tracks Monday afternoon as a southbound No. 1 train pulled into the Times Square station and she was pronounced dead on the scene shortly afterward. Witnesses immediately alerted police officers, who apprehended the suspect in the station.

The Associated Press identified the victim as 49-year-old Connie Watton, of Queens. She migrated to the U.S. from the Philippines, according to an AP report.

“What happened here today is tragic,” Joseph Fox, chief of transit for the New York City Police Department, told reporters at the midtown Manhattan subway station, one of city’s largest and busiest.

The victim was standing on the platform when the suspect, later identified as Melanie Liverpool, lunged at her, police said.

Two hours after the incident, emergency responders were working to remove the woman’s body from the tracks and resume subway service at the station before peak evening commuting hours.

Many of those who saw the attack were visibly shaken. Some witnesses said the victim and the suspect were involved in a dispute before the fatal shove, authorities said.

According to AP, Liverpool confessed to killing Watton, but rebuffed the claim at her arraignment on a murder charge.

“What? I didn’t admit to nothing,” Liverpool said before the judge reminded her she had a lawyer to speak for her.

The 30-year-old suspect was ordered held without bail.

Authorities have described her as emotionally disturbed, but her lawyer, Mathew Mari, said she had declined to give him any details on her medical history, AP reported.

Liverpool and Watton were talking on the platform at the Times Square station before Liverpool pushed Watton in front of an approaching train, according to investigators 

“This is a strong case, with multiple eyewitnesses,” said Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Matthew Thiman.

Watton worked for decades as a housekeeper for billionaire Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman, his daughter told the New York Post.

“My whole family is really sad and shocked,” said Zibby Schwarzman. “It’s horrifying.”

Dozens of people are hit by New York City subway trains each year, although most of the incidents are accidental, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates the system.

Last year, a woman was convicted and sentenced to 24 years in prison for fatally pushing a man into the path of an oncoming New York subway train in 2012. – with a report from Reuters

Share post:

Subscribe

Popular

More like this
Related

Sources of Motivation: Top 12 Sports and Fitness Influencers from the Philippines

Get inspired and motivated into healthy lifestyles by the top sports and fitness influencers in the Philippines 

List of Filipino Food to Have During the Holy Week “Semana Santa”

In honor of the Holy Week, Filipinos have maintained...

PUP’s Department of Performing Arts Launches its Performance Lab

The Department of Performing Arts (DPeA) of the Polytechnic...

14 Songs You (Probably) Thought Were Filipino Originals, But Are Actually Japanese Songs

" Reddit users pointed out that Japanese songs were popular for pinoy enternainers (Japayukis) when they came back here in the Philippines, bringing with them records. A lot of them perform these song on their job.