Astor Trial Jury Forewoman Attacked On Subway

Photograph of a 4 train at Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall station by Idle Type on Flickr

According to the NY Times, Justice Kirke Bartley told lawyers in a closed-door meeting yesterday that while "several jurors were riding the subway together after court on Thursday, a knife-wielding woman attacked the forewoman; one of the alternate jurors came to the rescue and helped apprehend the attacker." And the Daily News finds out that the attacker Tanika Williams—who was holding an 8-inch knife— said, "I'm a chef and I can cut you with this," and that the alternate juror held down Williams until the police arrived. The jury forewoman is described as a 44-year-old caterer who lives on the Upper East Side.

Justice Bartley said it was unlikely the attack had anything to do with the case, in which the Manhattan DA's office accuses Marshall of conspiring to steal his mother's millions,and that in spite of the forewoman's bruises, "She has been as attentive as she has been throughout the trial." Still, one of Marshall's lawyers has asked that the assault case be moved to a different DA's office, noting, "The emotional connection that likely will form between the victim and the advocates [the Manhattan DA's office] who seek to prosecute her assailant creates a glaring problem for the defendants in the Marshall case."