NYPD inaction cost life of Chinatown slay victim Christina Lee: suit

The family of a Manhattan woman murdered in her Chinatown apartment says police bungled the case by taking more than an hour from the first 911 call before they finally broke into Christina Lee’s home, where they found her dead.

When Lee entered her apartment building at 111 Chrystie St. near Grand St. about 4:20 a.m. on Feb. 13, 2022, a homeless man, Assamad Nash, 25, followed her inside, police and prosecutors say.

Nash then forced his way with Lee into her apartment. Lee’s screams alerted neighbors to call 911, says a lawsuit.

Moments later, at 4:25 a.m., two cops showed up at Lee’s door, said the suit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court.

Lee soon stopped screaming and Nash spoke to the cops through the closed door, mimicking a woman’s voice and saying Lee didn’t need help, police sources said at the time.

Nash barricaded the door, making it difficult for officers to enter, police said at the time.

It wasn’t until 5:40 a.m. that Emergency Service Unit officers broke into Lee’s apartment, where they found her in a bathtub, stabbed more than 40 times in the neck and torso, the lawsuit says. Lee was pronounced dead at the scene at 5:55 a.m.

Nash was found hiding underneath a bed and was quickly arrested. He was charged with murder and sexually motivated burglary, and his case is pending.

The suit alleges that police inaction cost Lee her life.

“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,” the filing states.

The suit claims the defendants, the city and 10 responding officers, “wrongfully caused the death” of Lee, and additionally caused her to “suffer physical, mental and emotional pain, following her injury and continuing until her death.”

The suit also blames the city for allowing nearby Sara D. Roosevelt Park to become a haven for homeless people and drug users. The suit says the city “failed to control significant public safety conditions” in the park, which is two blocks from Lee’s apartment.

The NYPD did not immediately respond for comment on the lawsuit, and the city Law Department said Saturday it had no information on the suit.