New York, December 31: A 31-year-old
New York woman charged with the murder
of an Indian immigrant has been ordered
to undergo a psychiatric evaluation after
she laughed at her arraignment telling the
judge she thought it would be ''cool'' to
push the victim in front of a train.
Erika Menendez has been charged with
murder as a hate crime for pushing 46-year
old Sunando Sen in front of an oncoming
train at a subway station in Queens on
December 27.
Sen, who owned a printing and copying
business, would be cremated today by his
friends after it emerged that he has no
family in India.
A Kolkata native, Sen lived with
roommates in a small apartment in Queens
and was unmarried. Menendez was
arraigned on Saturday night but showed no
remorse for her actions during the court
hearing.
According to the Queens District Attorney's
office, Menendez laughed uncontrollably
and smiled during the hearing, telling
prosecutors that she pushed Sen onto the
subway tracks for no reason.
''I pushed a Muslim,'' Assistant District
Attorney Michelle Kaszuba quoted
Menendez as telling detectives during the
hearing.
''There is no reason. I just pushed him in
front of the train because I thought it
would be cool. I just pushed him because
he was Muslim.''
Asked if Menendez showed any regret for
the crime, Kaszuba said she told
authorities: ''Nope, I don't like to regret
anything. It is what it is.''
Menendez's behaviour at the hearing even
infuriated Judge Gia Morris who ordered
the woman's defence lawyer Dietrich
Epperson to ''Tell your client this is not
funny. You're going to have to have your
client stop laughing. This is not
appropriate.''
Epperson told the judge that Menendez's
behaviour in court was not different from
how she had been behaving since her
arrest and said her client did not think the
proceedings were funny.
Morris ordered that Menendez be held
without bail and undergo a psychiatric
evaluation before her next court hearing on
January 14. Menendez has not entered any
plea.
Menendez told police that before pushing
Sen, she spent time with her boyfriend in
the Bronx, went to Times Square and
smoked marijuana, Kaszuba said.
Law enforcement officials said Menendez
has a history of mental health problems,
including bipolar disorder and over the past
12 years, has had at least 14 run-ins with
the police.
Menendez was arrested at least twice on
misdemeanor charges related to violence.
Her family members have also called the
police several times about her erratic
behaviour and mood swings, including once
when her mother reported to police that
she was ''threatening to harm herself and
others.''
Her arrests include on charges of
possessing cocaine and marijuana, using a
stolen credit card, harassment and assault.
In April 2003, Menendez was charged with
misdemeanor assault and harassment for
punching and scratching a 28-year-old man
in the face and neck.
About two months later, she was arrested
again after she allegedly punched a 55-
year-old man in the face as he was taking
out his garbage.
Menendez also used to go missing from
her house but would return later and
sometimes took ''various amounts of
medication pills, causing her to become
disoriented and drowsy,'' prosecutors said.
Menendez faces a maximum of 25 years to
life in prison if convicted.
After being arrested by the police, she
admitted pushing Sen onto the tracks
because she thought he was a Muslim and
she has harboured hatred for ''Hindus and
Muslims'' since the September 11 attacks.
Menendez told the police ''in sum and
substance'' that ''I pushed a Muslim off the
train tracks because I hate Hindus and
Muslims ever since 2001 when they put
down the twin towers I?ve been beating
them up.''
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