Police in New York have arrested a man wanted since this summer for allegedly killing a woman when he caused her to fall down a flight of stairs at a subway station, WCBS-TV reports.David Robinson, 53, was in court Saturday for an arraignment to face charges in connection with the death of 58-year-old Than Than Wtwe.Investigators say Wtwe was walking with her adult son on July 17 at the Canal Street subway station when Robinson thought the son had tossed trash at him, according to the New York Post.
UPDATE: David Robinson has been arrested by your @NYPDDetectives & charged for this murder. https://t.co/n0dZUGkHnS
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) November 27, 2021
Robinson walked up behind the two and attempted to grab the son’s backpack as he and his mother were climbing the steps, NY1 reports. The attack knocked the son off his balance, causing him and his mother to fall down the stairs.In an interview with police, Robinson reportedly acknowledged hearing a “loud crack” when Wtwe’s head struck the ground, according to the newspaper. Robinson then got on a train and went to a DVD store. Investigators were able to track him because he left his fingerprints on items that he picked up in the store, according to the Post.Wtwe, who worked as a seamstress, was in a coma for two weeks before she died July 28. Her family donated her organs, according to WCBS-TV.Robinson told authorities that he stayed away from the crime scene following the incident, instead remaining in Newark, New Jersey.Police eventually nabbed Robinson at Central Park on Friday after receiving a Crime Stoppers tip.Robinson faces two counts of manslaughter. He is being held on $100,000 bail and is scheduled to be back in court Dec. 2., according to NY1.Moe Chan, a community activist and friend of the Htwe family, told NY1 that Robinson should have been charged with a hate crime.“I find it very disappointing,” Chan told the television station. “Even though I am not a legal expert . . . as we all know, many Asians have been attacked for whatever reason, but yet there are certain cases charged as a hate crime. Other cases, not charged as a hate crime, and this is one of them and this is very disappointing.”Wtwe’s son, a college sophomore, lives in Brooklyn with his father. The family had immigrated to the United States about five years ago from Myanmar for a better life and to escape the country’s dictatorial violence, Chan told the television station.
In a GoFundMe update after Wtwe died, her son, Kyaw Saw Hein, urged readers to spend time with their mothers.
“I just want to tell everyone who’s reading this to always cherish the moments you have with your mother,” Hein wrote, according to the Post.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority released a statement on Saturday about the case.“Our hearts continue to go out to the victim’s family,” the statement reads, according to the Post. “Once again it is clear that with cameras in every subway station anyone who preys on transit riders can expect to be identified and face justice.”
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