The man, identified as Vincent Verdi, 62, then shot himself in the face. He is listed in critical condition at Bellevue. (Police originally stated that he had died, as DNAinfo noted.)
Lee worked at the Grace School high school campus at 46 Cooper Square. She often rode a Citi Bike to work on Cooper Square from her Upper East Side apartment.
School officials expressed their grief and offered a few details in a series of tweets yesterday...
We are deeply saddened to announce the loss of a beloved colleague, Elizabeth Lee, to an unthinkable act of violence this morning. 1/ pic.twitter.com/G0DlQIuLFG
— Grace Church School (@GCSchoolNYC) November 1, 2017
Elizabeth was a dearly loved member of our community for 17 years, first as a Grace Parent, Parents' Association Chair and... 2/
— Grace Church School (@GCSchoolNYC) November 1, 2017
most recently the assistant to the Assistant Head of School. We are all heartbroken over this tragedy. 3/
— Grace Church School (@GCSchoolNYC) November 1, 2017
Details about funeral arrangements will be shared here when they are available. 4/4
— Grace Church School (@GCSchoolNYC) November 1, 2017
As the Daily News reported about Verdi:
He stalked her for months after she dumped him following a failed Match.com romance — leading her to lock in an order of protection that wasn’t enough to keep her alive.
Creepy ex Vincent Verdi was spotted by neighbors peering into Elizabeth Lee-Herman’s Upper East Side building and loitering nearby in an apparent effort to catch her alone.
He was facing stalking charges filed by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office after he was arrested Oct. 5 for threatening her.
After she broke up with him on July 7, he peppered her with emails and calls to the school where she works, court records show. He sent her chocolate and flowers. He showed up at her dentist appointment on Aug. 10.
Judge Angela Badamo issued the order barring Verdi from contacting Lee-Herman and demanded he turn over all firearms.
He spent seven days in jail and was released Oct. 12, records show.
Heartbroken to hear this terrible news. Elizabeth Lee was a gem of a lady, beautiful inside & out, & such a meaningful person at the school
— Heidi Steinberg (@heidisteinberg) November 1, 2017
My condolences to the Lee family and Grace School community. This is beyond the pale.
ReplyDeleteThis is so tragic. I feel so bad for her friends and family. How he got the handgun will be really telling, and if he had any help they should be prosecuted!
ReplyDeleteMy condolences to Elizabeth Lee’s friends and family, nobody should be stalked and murdered after a breakup. That being said, online dating (or any type of dating for that matter) is not without risks:
ReplyDelete10% of sex offenders use online dating sites
3% of online daters are psychopaths
51% of online daters are already in a relationship
10% of members on free dating websites are scammers
Since 1995, 400 people have been murdered by someone they met online
I happen to know one psycho who has used Craigslist to drug and rob men. Why she was never arrested is a mystery. The problem with meeting people online is you don’t have access to any history of people who have observed their past behavior. But I also know people who met in clubs who abuse each other, so when ot comes to avoiding human deprvity there is no guarantee. I hope they put this guy away for a very long time, preferably in the same jail cell as Steve Croman,
F-ing horrific. What does it take to put away a creep like that? He went to jail, there was an order of protection, but obviously these things did nothing to prevent what happened.
ReplyDeleteMy condolences to Ms Lee's family and friends. Utterly heartbreaking.
Gio,
ReplyDeleteI've seen these stats before and you remind me of the dangers of the digital age. The wonders of the world that we can experience is dampened by the reality of the abuse that lurks behind it all.
Social media is the 21st century form of slavery. And users are oblivious to their dependency as drug addicts are to the debilitating effects of drugs.
We should all think twice before we engage. And let's hope the government gets involved to curtail the greed that drives these tech companies to allow the abusers to get away wit... well... murder.
so so so so so so so sad and awful
ReplyDeleteDamn this is nuts. I have a stalker for almost 3 years now and I am going to get pepper spray or mace. Whichever one is legal. You never know when someone will just lose it one day.
ReplyDeleteI always help my frend who does band instrument rentals deliver and pick up form this school and i remember her as a very nice person. This is horrific.
ReplyDeleteThis is terrible, but I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that you are more likely to be stalked by someone you meet online than someone you meet at a bar or work. Sadly, there are stalkerish people everywhere. Many of them actually use the Internet as a tool to stalk, but you could meet a stalker at Match.com, at church, at a grocery store. And there isn't much you can do.
ReplyDeleteA heart-breaking story. A woman stalked, after a brief romance, armed with an order of protection -- and Vincent Verdi decides, no, you're not leaving me. Yikes. This could be any Manhattan female. I've been stalked, too, and it turns life upside down. N.B.: on Vincent Verdi's website, the artist shows a portrait that he named, "I will not hurt you." For which ex-girlfriend did Vincent Verdi do that painting? Shudder.
ReplyDeleteInternet definitely makes it easier to stalk people these days. Google someone's name and chances are their phone number and address are right there for all to see. If you are trying to shake someone you have to make all your social media private. This guy knew where she worked and her schedule so he didn't need to do all that I guess.
ReplyDeleteBut online dating sites are getting a lot of flack these days from women complaining they are now being stalked from someone they met on the site. They block them and the stalker simply makes a new profile. It is happening to a friend of hime right now and also happened to my sister.
Of course it can be anyone you meet anywhere as stated...a bar, on a street corner..a show..the park...but I recently read an article about dating sites tightening up security. How they will actually do this who knows? Millions of people use them.
That portrait thing is creepy as hell...I didn't know his name until today. This whole thing is so depressingly sad I hated walking by there again today.
Sorry for this very sad situation. Too too many people have been murdered or abused after orders of protection, and it just seems the motion only further aggravates the abuser. Unfortunately people have to keep low profile and as private as possible, very difficult in this day and age,
ReplyDeleteHis friend is giving the "he worked for the CIA and military" defense or stopping short of giving it in an article written by a certain NYC daily so this POS can be sent to a psychiatric ward instead of a maximum penitentiary where he can spend the rest of his rotten life living without freedom he took from Elizabeth Lee. You take a life you spend the rest of your life in prison!
ReplyDeleteWhy even devote an article to this POS which implies that "something made him do it"? Where's the article about the victim's life? This subhuman should spend the rest of his rotten life in prison for committing premeditated, calculated, coldblooded murder, period, end of story, case closed. He knew EXACTLY where she was going when and laid in wait like the predator he was, is, and always will be. If he ends up like Jeffrey Dahmer so be it.
It does indeed seem clear that the murderer's 'friend' (lawyer?) is setting up some kind of PTSD defense in that ridiculous article blaming his alleged combat experiences for the fact that he murdered his victim in cold blood. I don't know whether it is usual for a stalker to be told to give up his weapons... or if the murderer had a history of threatening people with guns. In any case, both he and his lawyer lied about him owning a weapon. And then for 'pal' to state in same article how sorry he felt for the murderer's family... what about his victim's? A heartbreaking outcome for Elizabeth's two children, family, friends, co-workers, community.
ReplyDelete