A 25-year-old New School student was stabbed to death by her roommate Wednesday night inside their home in Ridgewood, Queens, DNAinfo reports.
Render Stetson-Shanahan, 26, admitted to the police that he was responsible for killing Carolyn Bush and stabbing himself after they had a heated argument, according to DNAinfo.
Bush was pronounced dead at Wyckoff Hospital, reports said.
Masha Mitkov, a friend of Bush, created a goFundMe page on Friday to aid the family in covering funeral expenses. “I used to live with Carolyn in Red Hook, NY, and was deeply affected by her presence. She was one of those friends that each time I would see her, it was as if no time had passed, and we could pick up at any conversation as we pleased,” Mitkov wrote on the page.
105 people have raised $3,390 of the $7,239 goFundMe goal as of Monday.
Bush was studying literary theory at Eugene Lang College and co-founded Wendy’s Subway, a non-profit library and writing space located in East Williamsburg, according to Gothamist. A vigil for Bush was held Sunday night at 5 p.m. at the literary space.
“Caroline was fierce. A passionate reader. Willing to butt heads. I’m at a loss for words. “ said Michael Pettinger, a literary professor at The New School. “She was able to do all those things thoughtfully… she has a rare gift.”
Stetson-Shanahan told police officers that he was upset and “drank a lot of beer and smoked weed” before stabbing Bush with a kitchen knife in her neck, back, and arm while she talked on the phone, according to the New York Post.
He later stabbed himself in the leg and was arrested at the scene after lunging with the knife at a neighbor who called 911, reports said. Stetson-Shanahan was charged with murder, criminal possession of a weapon, menacing, and criminal mischief.
Bush and Stetson-Shanahan were both graduates of Bard College and had lived together for about a year, reported Gothamist.
“She was extremely beautiful, very, very pretty. But he was great as well,” Pat Castellar, the building’s property manager, told DNAinfo. “I have 60 apartments, and they were my best tenants, always paid rent on time, no complaints. I am in shock.”