A woman who shoved another Subway rider in front of a moving train Monday told investigators that she shoved New School student Kea Fiedler to her death in Union Square last month, reports said.
Following an arrest for allegedly fatally shoving a woman in front of a subway train Monday afternoon, police are reportedly linking the suspect to the incident where a New School student, who was thought to have died as a result of a suicide, was killed after being hit by a moving train at the Union Square station in October.
Melanie Liverpool-Turner, 30, was arrested after she pushed a woman in front of a downtown 1 train at the 42nd Street stop early Monday afternoon and walked out of the station as if nothing happened, DNAinfo reported. The suspect also appears to be the same woman who police spoke to after canvassing the scene of Fiedler’s death that occurred on Oct. 19.
Liverpool-Turner told a police captain at the Oct. 19 scene that “I pushed her, I push people in front of trains, and I hear voices,” but police did not believe her claims because other bystanders who also witnessed the incident claimed she wasn’t on the train platform until after the disaster, according to reports.
Police also understood Fiedler was undergoing treatment from a therapist for a personal issue before she died, DNAinfo reported.
Following the Union Square train station incident, Liverpool-Turner was brought to Bellevue Hospital, but it is unclear how long she was kept there for, DNAinfo reported.
Authorities are now revisiting the details of Fielder’s death, reports said.
“We don’t know, perhaps the October incident gave [Liverpool-Turner] the idea to do what she did [Monday], or if there’s a chance she actually involved in last month’s case,” police told DNAinfo.
Liverpool-Turner has schizophrenia among other mental health issues, reports said. She also has a record that includes multiple misdemeanor charges, reports said.
Following Monday’s incident, police charged Liverpool-Turner with second-degree murder, DNAinfo reported.
Before Fiedler’s death at age 27, she was an active member of the New School community since 2014 and also a candidate in the Ph.D. program at the Milano school. She was remembered by friends as a person who was dedicated to her studies and devoted to those around her. During her time with The New School, she worked as a researcher, a teaching assistant, and a teacher at Lang. Fiedler’s death also prompted an email from New School President David Van Zandt, where he called her an “integral part to our PhD program.”
Find the original report on Fiedler’s death here.
Aaron is one of the New School Free Press' two editors-in-chief. He is also a news writer with Time Inc's automotive website The Drive, previously covered cars and other moving things for Business Insider's website Tech Insider, and also was previously a contributing writer with Gawker Media's automotive website Jalopnik. He is currently a Journalism + Design student at The New School.
