Christina Yuna Lee, a senior creative producer at Splice, was found dead in her Lower Manhattan apartment on Sunday after she was fatally stabbed by a stranger who followed her from the street, up six flights of stairs and into her home. As news spread of the horrific event, friends and co-workers took to social media to remember the 35-year-old.
“Over the weekend out beloved Christina Lee was senselessly murdered in her home. Our hearts are broken,” said Splice in a company statement, posted to its social media channels. “Always dedicated to making beautiful and inclusive artwork, Christina is irreplaceable. As we start to process this tragedy, we ask that you remember Christina Lee as the magical person she was, always filled with joy. We wish peace upon her family in their grief.”
A graduate of Rutgers University, friends and acquaintances on social media are remembering Lee for her “thoughtfulness” and her desire to create a more accepting and inclusive music industry. One co-worker, Kenneth Takanami, wrote on Twitter, “we bonded over a shared mission for a more inclusive creator space, among many other things… She formed the Art Appropriation Council after many hours of discussion about the place of Asians in the music community and how we, in our small little corner of the industry, could combat racism and appropriation.” He ended the post with, “heartbroken and devastated doesn’t begin to cover it…Christina forever.”
I will miss you so much Christina pic.twitter.com/HqgS1DzOAu
— stream “Interference” (@kennethtakanami) February 14, 2022
Lee’s manager, Dani DiCiaccio, paid tribute in an Instagram post, describing the time she met her co-worker and how she was a “bubbly, curious, creative and confident human,” from her first interview. Once at the company, Dani said Lee “wanted to be friends” with all her co-workers. “She saved people seats at meetings, spontaneously joined them at Dumbo House, spontaneously joined them for a trip to the Cloisters, started a book club, had lunches with people on completely opposite and random teams, slacked people while on a zoom call, telling them, ‘your lipstick is absolutely perfect today.’”
Co-worker and friend Katie Smith echoed DiCiaccio’s assertions in her own Instagram caption, “Christina made you feel heard and accepted and warm. What a special person to be so generous of spirit that you constantly make the people around you feel good.”
Prior to her work at Splice, Lee worked on campaigns for brands including Google, Twix, Equinox, Cole Haan and more. A vigil was held in her honor in Chinatown on Monday.
The suspect, Assamad Nash, was taken into custody at the scene by law enforcement and has since been charged with Lee’s murder.
The killing of Lee, who is Korean-America, is not currently considered to be a hate crime, but recent NYPD data shows a 361% rise in anti-Asian hate crimes from 2020 to 2021, leading many Twitter users to question whether her race was a factor.
Mayor Eric Adams also reflected on Lee’s wrongful death online, calling it “the definition of horrific” and adding, “we stand by our Asian community today.”
This is the definition of horrific. @NYPDNews is investigating this incident and we stand with our Asian community today.
The suspect is in custody, but the conditions that created him remain. The mission of this administration is clear: We won’t let this violence go unchecked. https://t.co/j8BiV6fDRe
— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) February 13, 2022
Splice declined to provide additional comment.
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Tagged: business, Business news, Christina Yuna Lee, entertainment blog, music blog, Obituary, Splice