With a sobbing father looking on, a judge in New York today sentenced the man convicted of killing Christina Yuna Lee in her New York apartment in 2022 to 30 years to life in prison.
Lee’s father, Sungkon Lee, urged the judge to hand out the maximum sentence as his family continues to live with pain.
“Why did God do such terrible things to our family?” he said in the packed courtroom, according to ABC7.
Prosecutors say Assamad Nash, 27, followed Lee into her Chinatown apartment and stabbed her more than 40 times. The murder happened during the height of anti-Asian hate and galvanized the Asian American community nationwide.
Fox5 New York reports neighbors alerted police after hearing Lee’s screams coming from her apartment in the dead of night. Police broke into the apartment and found Nash hiding under the bed and a yellow-handled knife hidden behind a dresser.
Nash had previously entered a guilty plea to murder and burglary charges but declined to speak in court during his sentencing.
“Christina Yuna Lee was killed in an unthinkably horrific manner in her own apartment at the hands of Assamad Nash,” said District Attorney Alvin Bragg. “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.”
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