Erika Menendez pushed an innocent man in front of an oncoming 7 train in Queens in December. (Credit: Reuters)
A woman who faces multiple counts of murder after she purposely pushed an innocent man in front of an oncoming train in December was found fit for trial for the second time.
Erika Menendez, 31, killed 46-year-old Sunando Sen at a No. 7 train station in Sunnyside. She said she pushed him because he looked Muslim and she hates Muslims. Sen was not Muslim.
Menendez also fired her family lawyer on Wednesday, insisting that she only wants her court-appointed attorney, the New York Post reported. The family lawyer said that even though Menendez was found fit for trial, she suffers from severe psychiatric issues, stemming from problems with her family.
In statements read by an assistant district attorney on Wednesday, Menendez said, “I don’t have mental illness. I hate my family, I don’t care, I don’t want your medicine, I know what I am doing.”
She also allegedly said, “I just pushed him in front of the train because I thought it would be cool.”
Her attorney has entered a not guilty plea on her behalf and plans to submit a bail application for her at her next hearing on April 18.
