Man Suspected of Attacks on Asian Women is Found Dead in Elevator Shaft
According to NBC, a 25-year-old New York City man believed to be responsible for recent string of attacks on Asian women was found dead in an Upper East Side elevator shaft Monday, apparently from suicide.
Cops say Tyrelle D. Shaw, reportedly an artist who made “bow ties out of unconventional materials,” struck at least four Asian women in the face with a hard object wrapped in a plastic bag when they failed to respond to his romantic overtures.
Shaw became a suspect in the bizarre attacks, which started June 10, after relatives recognized him from surveillance footage released by the NYPD. Via the New York Times:
Mr. Shaw’s friends and relatives became increasingly concerned after a post appeared on his blog describing his infatuation with Asian women, claiming a connection to the crimes and outlining his intention to end his life.
“I never wanted to reach the conclusion that Asian women would never take me serious, because of the color of my skin,” read the post attributed to Mr. Shaw, who is black. “Inform N.Y.P.D. they could stop searching for me because I’m going to commit suicide.”
In a post on June 17, he said he would hang himself in an elevator shaft by tying a noose to the bottom of an elevator and waiting for someone to press a button.
Cops were still searching for Shaw, who apparently did not have a fixed address, when residents of an Upper East Side apartment building where Shaw had been squatting noticed a strange odor.
Shaw’s body was recovered from the bottom of the shaft Monday, where cops say he had been hanging for several days. Police say they do not suspect foul play.
