Accused Times Square Subway Shover Held Without Bail

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — The man accused of killing a woman by pushing her in front of a train at Times Square appeared in court on Wednesday, where he was arraigned on a murder charge and ordered to be held without bail.

Simon Martial, a 61-year-old homeless man, pushed 40-year-old Michelle Alyssa Go in front of a downtown R train Saturday morning at the 42nd Street station, according to authorities. Go, who lived on the Upper West Side, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The shocking attack was unprovoked, according to prosecutors, who told a judge Wednesday that Go was looking down at her phone when she was shoved. Authorities say Martial confessed to the crime in three different conversations with police and prosecutors, was captured on video at the station when the attack took place, and was identified by an eyewitness as the assailant.

Go was Asian, making her the latest victim in a series of violent attacks against Asian New Yorkers that have rattled the city. Authorities have not announced any hate-crime-related charges against Martial — who reportedly intimidated another woman before approaching Go — but prosecutors said Wednesday that they were poring over evidence in search of any racial bias in the attack.

Judge Paul McDonnell ordered Martial to be held without bail, with his next court appearance scheduled for Feb. 23.

A Tuesday evening vigil in Times Square memorialized Go, a California native with a passion for travel who worked for Deloitte Consulting.

"She loved New York. We would talk about it in the pandemic that we would rather be nowhere else," friend Kim Garnett said of Go, according to the New York Post. "She loved Central Park. She loved living on the Upper West Side."

Martial, who reportedly has a history of mental health problems, has prior felon convictions for attempted robberies in 1999 and 2019. At the time of Saturday's attack, he had a warrant out for a parole violation, prosecutors said.