NYPD have arrested a homeless man accused of shoving an Asian woman to her death in front an oncoming subway train in Times Square.
Simon Martial, 61, is charged with second-degree murder after the Saturday morning incident at around 9:40 a.m. in Manhattan when a woman was killed at the southbound N, Q, R and W platform at West 42nd Street and Broadway.
Police have identified the woman as Michelle Alyssa Go, 40, who lived on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
Martial has a history of mental illness and told reporters to 'go f*** yourself' as he was walked out of a Midtown precinct on Saturday night, declaring himself 'God.'
'Yeah because I'm God,' he said when asked if he killed Go, the New York Post reported. 'Yes I did. I'm God, I can do it.'
He then claimed: 'She stole my f***ing jacket, that's why.'
NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said the attack was 'unprovoked' and the victim 'does not appear to have any interaction with the subject.'
The victim was remembered fondly on Saturday night as a 'good soul.'
'Everybody at Ruxton Towers liked her,' an anonymous acquaintance who asked not to be named told DailyMail.com on the Upper West Side. 'She was a good soul - a nice person. She didn’t deserve this'
Martial reportedly shoved Go onto the tracks as a southbound R train approached the station in a seemingly random attack. He purportedly had approached a different woman, who was not Asian, but she moved away, police said.
Martial has a previous criminal history and served two years in state prison for attempted robbery before being released in August 2021, the New York Post reported, citing state records.
Sources told DailyMail.com that he has been arrested at least twice in the past for robbery. One incident was in August 2017 in Manhattan, when he was charged with first-degree robbery after allegedly entering a car, pretending to have a gun and stealing $43.
He was also arrested in July 1998 for allegedly simulating a gun in an attempt to rob a taxi driver, threatening to kill the driver. He was charged with two counts of robbery and criminal possession of a weapon at the time.
Sources told the Post that he has had three encounters with police as an emotionally disturbed person.
Martial's sister, Josette Simon, was shocked and told the New York Post that her brother has a history of mental illness, but had once managed a parking lot and made 'good money.'
'He’s been on medication for over 20 years and in and out of mental hospitals in New York,' she told the Post.
Simon Martial, 61, is charged with second-degree murder after the Saturday morning incident. He is seen Saturday night leaving the Midtown precinct
Martial is accused of killing a woman, identified as Michelle Alyssa Go, at the southbound N, Q, R and W platform at West 42nd Street and Broadway
Martial has a criminal record of at least three arrests dating back to 1998. His sister told the New York Post that her brother has a history of mental illness
The MTA confirmed that Go had been struck by a train. Police found the victim lying on the tracks, unconscious with trauma to her body.
EMS personnel pronounced her dead at the scene, authorities said.
Go had reportedly been standing with two other women when she was pushed.
Delays were reported on the N, Q and R lines due to the incident.
The horrifying attack comes as crime in the subway and around the city continues to soar at the beginning of Mayor Eric Adams and Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg's first terms.
Bragg's controversial decision to downgrade burglary, armed robbery and drug dealings from felonies to misdemeanors has drawn criticism, as it has led to many criminals being let back out on the streets.
The number of felony assaults has since increased by 4.7 percent over the course of the last week, as compared to the same time last year.
Overall, crime is up 30.5 percent from the same period in 2021, according to the city's crime stats.
Former Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said newly-elected Mayor Eric Adams has his hands tied in terms of crime while Bragg's office implements its woke policies.
Adams had promised a return to broken-windows policing after winning on a tough-on-crime approach campaign.
'I don't know how Mr. Adams is going to do that when the DA is effectively handcuffing the police,' he said.
Several of New York City's borough district attorneys also took aim at the soft-on-crime policies laid out this week by Bragg.
This is the second death on the subway tracks in Manhattan in recent weeks.
A Good Samaritan was killed by a train after jumping onto the tracks to rescue the victim of a beating on New Year's Day attack in the New York City subway.
Police on Wednesday apprehended two boys, ages 16 and 17 years old, charging them with murder, robbery and gang assault stemming from the death of Roland Hueston, NBC New York first reported.
The incident took place at the Times Square Subway Station at West 42nd Street and Broadway in Manhattan
The unidentified woman was at the N, Q and R lines at the station waiting for her train, police said
New York's crime rate continues to rise under new Mayor Eric Adams, who promised to be tough on crime, and 'woke' progressive DA Alvin Bragg
It is unknown at this time if they were being charged as adults. Their names have not been released as of Friday morning.
The incident took place within the 46th precinct, which has seen 17 felonious assaults from January 1 to January 9, a 325 percent increase compared to last year.
Earlier this week, police announced the arrest of another 16-year-old boy in connection with the deadly incident.
The teens were allegedly among nearly a dozen young people - eight males and three females - who police say attacked a 38-year-old man on the B/D train platform at the Fordham Road station in the Bronx at around 2.45am on January 1.
The New York Daily News previously reported that the beating victim was drunk and got into an argument with the youths, who began punching and kicking him. At least one of the alleged attackers threatened the victim with a knife, according to witness accounts.
In the course of the attack, the drunken man fell onto the tracks as a D train was pulling into the station.
Roland Hueston, 36, has been identified as the Good Samaritan who was struck by a subway train and killed while trying to save a man who had been attacked by an alleged gang
Police on Wednesday arrested two boys, 16 and 17, who they say were among the 11 people (pictured above) who attacked and beat up a 38-year-old inside a Bronx subway station
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