Relatives of Christina Yuna Lee and members of New York City’s Asian community on Tuesday urged lawmakers to name a homeless shelter in memory of the late creative producer who was murdered by a vagrant in her Chinatown apartment.
Her grieving father, Songkong Lee, said he wanted to build a “Christina Yuna Lee Memorial Shelter” in memory of his 35-year-old daughter, who was stabbed to death by convicted killer Asamad Nash in 2022.
“I want to ensure that Christina’s memory is remembered and that no one else suffers a similar fate,” Sancon said at a news conference after Nash, 27, was sentenced in Manhattan Supreme Court to 30 years to life in prison.
“This will contribute to preventing similar incidents from happening in the future and will be a way to honour and remember Christina,” he said.
Nash, who was homeless at the time of the murder, chased Christina to her Christie Street apartment in the early hours of February 13, 2022, and stabbed her more than 40 times.
Speaking to The Washington Post after a news conference outside the courtroom, the victim’s grieving father added: “When homeless people see my daughter’s name, they’re going to think of this case.”
Charles Yoon, a lawyer for Lee’s family, said naming the shelter after Christina, who was Korean-American, would ensure people would never forget her death.
Her death prompted community leaders to call for the city to take action during a surge in attacks against Asian American Pacific Islander New Yorkers in 2022 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s getting a lot of hype now, but people may not remember it in a few years,” Yoon said.
“Having her name on the shelter will help people realize what happened and that it was done by someone who was homeless,” he said. “We want to honor her and memorialize her so that it doesn’t happen again.”
Jean Kang, a member of the Korean American Bar Association of the New York Metropolitan Area, said she hopes the city will respect the family’s request to set up a homeless shelter in the Chinatown area.
“Asian Americans in the city remain fearful for their safety and these attacks must stop,” Kang said, adding that he hopes prosecutors and law enforcement will “remain vigilant” about attacks against Asian Americans.
Songkong Ly also slammed the NYPD for failing to help her daughter when she was screaming for help from inside the apartment, a claim she makes in her pending lawsuit against the police.
“The defining cause of Christina’s death was what happened at the scene of the incident, and we believe the police response when they arrived on the scene was inadequate. The number one mission of the city of New York and its police department is to keep its citizens safe,” he said.
“My family is currently pursuing a lawsuit against the city of New York, but what we really want is not compensation,” her father continued, “but we want Christina’s memory to be remembered and for no one else to suffer the same fate.”
