Disturbing footage has captured the horrific moment a man fatally pushed a beloved 76-year-old former teacher down a flight of concrete stairs at a Manhattan subway station, leading to his death. The video shows retired educator Ross Falzone walking toward the 18th Street subway station in Chelsea around 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 7, when his attacker walks up behind him without warning and pushes him with both hands, sending the victim plummeting to his death.
The victim disappears into the lights at the bottom of the stairs and was later pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital after suffering a severe head injury. After the attack, his accused killer is seen casually walking away and even signaling traffic to stop as he crosses the street and disappears into the night.
Police later charged Rhamell Burke, a 32-year-old onetime successful Broadway dancer, with murder in the senseless attack. He is being held without bail at Rikers Island. Burke initially appeared in court just hours after the fatal shove on an unrelated assault case, but walked free when no one recognized him from surveillance footage. He was later spotted at Penn Station and arrested in Falzone's death.
Rhamell Burke, a repeat offender with multiple arrests earlier this year, fatally shoved 76-year-old retired teacher Ross Falzone down a Manhattan subway staircase in an unprovoked attack. Hours before the incident, NYPD officers had taken Burke to a hospital for psychiatric evaluation.
