Erika Menendez became the embodiment of every New Yorker’s nightmare back in December 2012, when she killed 46-year-old Sunando Sen by pushing him in front of an oncoming 7 train. After her arrest, the 33-year-old told investigators that she attacked Sen — an Indian immigrant whom she did not know — because she “[hates] Hindus and Muslims.” Menendez was later found fit to stand trial for murder, but Queens district attorney Richard Brown allowed her to plead guilty to manslaughter, citing her “substantial psychiatric history and drug problems” and the possibility of a case where “open questions and gray areas that may have resulted in a hung jury.” On Wednesday, Menendez was sentenced to 24 years in prison, though that probably won’t do much to soothe your irrational fear of encountering someone like her during your next commute.
