The man who allegedly pushed his girlfriend onto the New York subway tracks, leaving both of her feet severed, is a schizophrenic who has previously stabbed a woman and her three-year-old daughter.
Christian Valdez has been identified as a suspect, was allegedly arguing with his 29-year-old beau on the platform at the Fulton Street station in the city’s financial district on Saturday morning when things escalated.
He allegedly pushed the woman onto the tracks as a 3 train approached, with the victim repeatedly screaming “I don’t deserve this” as she was left pinned under a carriage.
Emergency crews arrived and quickly rushed the victim to Bellevue Hospital, where she is in critical condition after losing both of her feet as a result of the incident.
Valdez was arrested about 11 hours after the attack and is now charged with murder and aggravated assault, but initially fled the station and went to his niece’s home, according to NY Daily Newsand told her that the tragic incident was an accident.
Christian Valdez, the man who allegedly pushed his girlfriend onto the New York subway tracks and left both of her feet severed, is a parolee who previously stabbed a woman and her then 3-year-old daughter
Valdez — who has three other prior assault arrests — was sentenced to eight years in prison in 2020 for an attempted assault conviction in the Bronx.
However, on January 9, 2023, he was released from a New York state prison on parole.
After his arrest on Saturday evening around At 9:30 p.m., the NYPD confirmed his involvement in a home invasion on September 13, 2017.
Valdez broke into 37-year-old Jenny Aquino’s Bronx apartment, stabbed the woman in the stomach with a glass bottle and then stabbed her three-year-old daughter Bella in the arm with a knife
He then threatened to throw the child off a third-floor fire escape, according to ABC News.
Aquino said she knew Valdez from church and occasionally let him stay at her apartment, even though they were not romantically involved.
The woman and her daughter were rescued by a Good Samaritan who heard noises coming from the apartment and ran in and attacked Valdez, throwing household items at him, including vases, before another neighbor could grab the daughter.
Aquino eventually sued his building management for failing to provide proper security to prevent Valdez from breaking in and settled for $225,000 in 2023.
In September 2017, he broke into a Bronx apartment, stabbed a woman, then tried to throw her daughter off a third-floor fire escape
The victim was allegedly pushed onto the tracks when a 3 train approached and hit her as she allegedly screamed: ‘I don’t deserve this!’
Valdez’s niece, who did not give her name, said her uncle ran to her apartment in nearby Newark, New Jersey shortly after the stabbing.
“He said they had a fight and she fell down, but he didn’t know how,” she said.
“They were on their way to a doctor’s appointment… Together they take a train to an appointment and they had an argument,” she said. A police source had also told the New York Post that they had argued before he pushed her.
But Valdez said ‘I don’t know’ when asked what had happened, adding: ‘My boyfriend had an accident.’
Then he called someone the niece said was either a social worker or a parole officer, and they convinced him to return to New York City.
She said her uncle had been dating the victim for two or three months and believes she knew he had been living with schizophrenia for 18 years.
Although she has never met his girlfriend, she knew that they were currently living together at a homeless shelter.
Whether it was an accident or not, his niece – who hopes the victim ‘gets better’ – hopes Valdez can get the help he needs.
Emergency crews arrived and quickly rushed the victim to Bellevue Hospital, where she is in critical condition after losing both of her feet as a result of the incident
The mayor said he wants to bring back methods like bag checks that have previously been used in times of high suspicion
Christian has schizophrenia and he needs special help. He needs mental health help,” she said, hoping his girlfriend can “forgive him because he’s sick.”
She says he has spent time in hospitals in New York and New Jersey getting treatment for his condition and believes going back to prison will only worsen his mental health, noting he recently quit with taking his medicine.
“In prison they don’t have good medical care,” she added. ‘He needs medical attention. He needs help from the doctors.’
Due to the pushing incident, the MTA had to cut power to the railroad to access the woman.
Train traffic was significantly affected for hours while police investigated the incident.
This latest incident comes just days after New York City Mayor Eric Adams said he would bring back bag checks for subway riders following a spike in crime.
Recent criminal activity on the trains included a cellist stabbed over the head by a stranger and a shooting that killed one and injured five others.
“We know people feel unsafe,” Adams, himself a former transit police officer, admitted during a press briefing.
Train services were also significantly affected for hours while police investigated the incident
94 bag screening teams will be sent to 136 stations each week, although the exact locations will be determined.
The mayor said he will bring back methods previously used in times of high suspicion.
‘We are reintroducing bag checks. There are several things we’re reintroducing into the system,’ Adams added, with the NYPD reportedly searching bags for weapons such as knives, box cutters, clubs and guns.
The city is also reviewing technology to detect metal objects entering the transit system.
Screening teams will be able to check any passenger’s bags for weapons under the long-dormant policy.
These subway control protocols were originally brought to the MTA after the 2005 London bombings.
However, it may bring back memories of the city’s ‘stop-and-frisk’ policy, which was ended in 2014 after being deemed ‘unconstitutional’.
On Wednesday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced that National Guard troopers and state police would be deployed to conduct “random” bag checks, while the number of plainclothes police patrol stations would be increased.