A New York woman identified as Michelle Go was pushed to her death in front of a subway train at the Times Square station on Saturday, according to reports.
Police say Go, 40, was waiting on the southbound platform at the Times Square subway station when a man later identified as 61-year-old Simon Martial approached her from behind, and shoved her into the path of an oncoming train.
Martial, who appears to be homeless and mentally disturbed, was charged with second-degree murder.
As reported by ABC News, Martial first fled the scene and then turned himself in to transit police.
"This incident was unprovoked, and the victim does not appear to have had any interaction with the subject," Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell explained at a press conference.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams, meanwhile, said that the city's economic recovery is "dependent on the public safety in this city and in the subway system."
"We want to continue to highlight how imperative it is that people receive the right mental health services, particularly on our subway system," he said.
Who was Michelle Go, and what do we know about her so far?
According to The New York Post, an MBA graduate of NYU’s prestigious Stern School of Business, Go was a senior manager at the consulting firm Deloitte.
She previously worked at Barclays Capital and Citi, and also had a Bachelor’s degree from University of California, Los Angeles.
In her spare time, the 40-year-old volunteered as an advocate for marginalized groups, including the homeless. Her friends and neighbors have describer her as a kind and wonderful person.
A representative for the New York Junior League, where Go volunteered, described her as a dedicated activist.
"Michelle’s focus populations were seniors, recovering homeless, immigrants, and under resourced and academically struggling elementary and middle school kids and their parents," the rep said, adding that Go worked on one committee with "the goal of empowering adults and young adults on the path to independent success."
"She helped them prepare to enter or re-enter the workforce by developing their professional skills of resume writing, interviewing, and networking, and by making sound decisions in matters of personal finance," they added.
"Michelle interviewed me at Deloitte and gave me a chance to go to the next round. Shortly after I started my job we reconnected -- she was so kind and intelligent," Go's colleague Steffany Franco wrote on social media.
"Life is so unpredictable and fragile, taking the time to reflect and process this tragedy is incredibly hard," Franco added.
Tamas Erdos, who graduated from NYU’s Stern School of Business with Go, said she was a "natural leader."
"She was really reliable, dependable and fun. She was a super person to have on the team. She was so vibrant and full of energy and she was really interested in finance," he said.
