‘Lee against the world’: Ramble regulars mourn woman killed in Central Park
Friends say the 63-year-old kept the park's bird feeders filled and sketched birds. Police said a 36-year-old man faces a murder charge.
Friends of a 63-year-old woman who died in Central Park on Sunday came together Monday at the Summerhouse, a wooden shelter tucked along the winding paths of the Ramble. Many of them said they had only ever known her as Lee.
Officers were sent near East Drive and East 74th Street after a 911 call at around 9:43 a.m., according to the NYPD. They found the woman unconscious, with trauma to her head. Emergency medical workers declared her dead on the spot. Based on what police officials described, the attack seems to have taken place inside the Summerhouse, where she was apparently struck with a piece of wood.
Arrest in the Central Park killing
Officers arrested Jonathan Robles, 36, later that day. According to police, he faces one count of murder and one of criminal weapon possession. His arraignment was set for Tuesday, and no lawyer had been assigned to him yet.
Police have not explained the circumstances of the death. They are withholding the woman’s name until her family has been notified.
A fixture among Central Park birders
According to Alberto Ramirez, 51, Lee often made the shelter her home, and her tent stayed up all day. Others, he said, pitch theirs only at a certain hour. Ramirez credited her with giving him somewhere to live when he left prison.
Robert DeCandido, known as Birding Bob from the bird walks he leads in Central Park, said his friendship with Lee went back years. Birders recruited her to keep the feeders full and paid for the seed, he said. He and Leslie Porter, who also knew her, said people in the birding community helped her get camping gear such as tents and outdoor clothing. Lee also sketched birds, they said, and sold some drawings for $250.
DeCandido described her as a tough, streetwise New Yorker. “Really, it was Lee against the world,” he said. Birder Dan Stevenson, whose home is a short walk east of the park, said he saw her there regularly. “Never bothered anybody,” he said.
Porter said there were nights she slept at the Summerhouse herself, just to check that Lee was safe. The care went both ways, according to Porter: Lee shared food when she was hungry and gave her a blanket on cold nights.
Quick answers
Who was arrested in the Central Park killing?
Officers arrested Jonathan Robles, 36, on Sunday evening. According to police, he faces murder and criminal weapon possession charges.
Where in Central Park was the woman found?
Officers answering a 911 call found her near East Drive and East 74th Street. Police officials said she appears to have been struck inside the Summerhouse, a shelter in the Ramble.
