More On: subway shoves Heed the pleas of the subway-shover’s sister: Stop letting the severely mentally ill roam loose and untreated ‘In a state of shock’: Family of subway-shove victim Michelle Go breaks silence Candlelight vigil planned for subway-shove victim Michelle Go in Times Square Letters to the Editor — Jan.18, 2022 The sister of the deranged ex-con accused of fatally shoving a Times Square straphanger told The Post on Monday that her sibling never should have been free to walk the streets.
Josette Simon wept as she recalled she once even begged a hospital to keep her troubled brother locked up after his life was derailed by mental illness.
“He was a hardworking man, he was a giving man,” Simon, 65, said through tears of her younger brother, Martial Simon, 61.
“At 14 years old, he started shoveling snow.He drove a taxicab.He worked from the bottom to move up to become a manager at a parking place in Manhattan.He always liked New York.
“Somehow, in his 30s, something happened and he lost it,” she said.“He kept seeing and hearing people after him.One of my sisters took him in.He stayed, and then he said, ‘I have to go back to New York.’ “
The NYPD lists the subway-shove suspect’s name as Simon Martial, although his sister identified him as Martial Simon.
Josette Simon, who lives outside Atlanta, Ga., said her brother was diagnosed with schizophrenia, with his conditioning worsening after their mother died 23 years ago.
Michelle Go was pursuing an MBA graduate degree at NYU’s Stern School of Business.
Suspect Simon Martial was diagnosed with schizophrenia more than 20 years ago, according to his sister Josette Simon.Simon Martial cursed at reporters while being taken to custody.J.C.Rice “She was taking care of him,” Simon said.“She had to call the police on him a couple of times, but after that, he went downhill.He’s been in and out of mental hospitals at least 20 years.”
Martial Simon was charged with murder in Saturday’s random attack on Michelle Alyssa Go, 40, who was waiting for an R train at the Times Square station around 9:20 a.m.when he allegedly pushed her into the path of an incoming train .
NYPD officers investigate the scene of the deadly subway shove at the Times Square station on January 15, 2022.J.C.
Rice New Yorkers have blamed the state’s bail laws for allowing Simon Martial to hang around the subway.J.C.Rice Martial, who has served state prison time on robbery and attempted robbery convictions, turned himself in to cops at Canal Street minutes later.
He admitted to reporters that he shoved Go and claimed it was because he is “God.”
“I remember begging one of the hospitals, ‘Let him stay,’ because once he’s out, he didn’t want to take medication, and it was the medication that kept him going,” his sister told The Post.
The NYPD stated the deadly subway shove was not a hate crime.J.C.
Rice Simon Martial is accused of shoving Michelle Go to her death in the Times Square station at West 42nd Street and Broadway.J.C.Rice “The last time we spoke, he said ‘they’ were coming after him,” Josette Simon said.“I could tell it was his sickness.He swore that they were watching him, hiding in closets.”
She said she has been devastated since hearing of Go’s death.
“This thing is tearing me apart,” Simon said.
“It’s like I can’t even talk about it.My heart goes out to whoever lost their loved one, whether it was a mother, a sister, a daughter.
Michelle Go’s death has been part of an ongoing trend of crimes against Asian Americans skyrocketing in New York City.J.C.Rice Assistant NYPD Chief Kathleen O’Reilly said the deadly shove occurred in spite of six officers patrolling the Times Square station.J.C.
Rice “I just would like to put that out there, to apologize, to feel for them,” she said.“It’s tearing me apart.
My brother had been sick for so long.
“Of course, I never thought something like that would happen,” she added.“And it’s not only my brother.I don’t think enough people look at mental illness like a disease, like cancer, AIDS or anything else.
It’s an illness.
“I’m his older sister, and it really breaks my heart that there was nothing I could do,” Josette Simon said.“And they let him out in the street.Unfortunately, they never had my number to even call me or tell me, ‘Get your brother.’ “
Suspect Simon Martial was previously convicted of robbery and attempted robbery.J.C.Rice Suspect Simon Martial claimed he shoved Michelle Go off the subway platform because he is “God.” J.C.
Rice Michelle Go was known for volunteering with the New York Junior League and helping homeless people.Asked what should happen to her brother now, Simon answered, “Get him some help.
“Don’t go locking him up like an animal with people who are really murderers,” she said.“Get him some help.I’m not saying let him out, but get him some help.”
“People who saw him know — he’s crazy.”.
