NEW YORK — Relatives of Christina Yuna Lee have broken their silence by starting an online fundraising campaign in memory of the slain Chinatown resident.
“Christina’s death has shaken us to our core,” the GoFundMe page created by her family reads. “Nothing will give her back to us. But with your help, we can make the 35 years she spent on Earth mean something for generations to come.”
Organized by sister Angela Yujin Lee, the campaign has already raised more than $100,000 in 24 hours for five organizations that were close to 35-year-old Lee’s heart: the Prospect Park Alliance, Womankind, Planned Parenthood, the Elizabeth Street Garden and SafeWalks.
To commemorate Lee’s love for Prospect Park, the family wants to plant a tree and install a memorial bench in her honor. By supporting SafeWalks, which matches New Yorkers with people to walk them home if they feel vulnerable, the family hopes to help the initiative expand into other neighborhoods and improve its response times.
Thousands of dollars have already been earmarked for each organization on the list. Because the fundraiser surpassed its $100,000 goal, Lee’s family plans to establish the Christina Yuna Lee Memorial Fund to “provide additional support to these organizations and others that were important to Christina.”
Lee’s gruesome murder after she was trailed into her Chinatown apartment building by a homeless stranger early on Feb. 13 and stabbed her more than 40 times, shocked the city. Lee was returning home from a night out with her friend when she was followed into her home on Chrystie Street, her sister says on GoFundMe.
Assamad Nash allegedly stalked and stabbed Lee to death as horrified neighbors called police after hearing her screams. A criminal complaint recounted how Nash forced his way into her sixth-floor apartment, where police found the slain designer naked from the waist up inside the bathroom and Nash hiding under her bed.
A yellow-handled knife was recovered at the scene and the complaint alleged that Nash earlier feigned a woman’s voice from inside the apartment, insisting there was no need for the police.
Lee’s name has since been used as a rallying cry for cracking down on bail reform and violence against Asian American women.
But those closest to her remained quiet until now.
“Her death is part of an alarming pattern of unchecked, hateful violence against women, namely women of Asian descent and women of color that can no longer stand without consequence,” her sister wrote on GoFundMe.
“Christina was full of life. She radiated positivity, joy, and love. She supported her friends in everything that they did. She went above and beyond to make those she loved know she was there for them — never expecting anything in return. Her loss is an unfathomable tragedy that her loved ones and her community will struggle with for years to come.”
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