A man has been indicted for murder in connection with fatally pushing a 76-year-old former Jessup man down a set of subway stairs, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office announced on Wednesday.
Rhamell Burke, 32, was indicted on second-degree murder charges Wednesday for allegedly shoving Ross Falzone down a flight of stairs at a Chelsea subway station, according to the DA.
Ross Falzone enjoying a meal in New York’s Little Italy in 2024. The Jessup native was killed at the subway last week. (SUBMITTED)
Falzone was taken to the hospital where he died hours later.
“Ross Falzone was walking to a Chelsea subway station when Rhamell Burke allegedly shoved him down the stairs, abruptly ending his life,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a news release. “This unprovoked and terrifying act of violence committed against an older New Yorker shook our city.”
The indictment was filed with the New York State Supreme Court as the result of evidence presented to a grand jury.
In New York State, such charges generally require a grand jury indictment to proceed to trial. While preliminary hearings are technically permitted, prosecutors primarily use grand juries to establish probable cause, essentially replacing the need for a preliminary hearing in most felony cases.
At about 9:30 p.m. on May 7, Ross Falzone was at the top of the subway steps when Burke, recently released from psychiatric hold at Bellevue Hospital, pushed him down the stairs and left him to die, New York City police say. He suffered a fractured spine, traumatic brain injury and a broken rib. He was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead early the next morning.
Burke was caught on surveillance video walking away from the scene at 18th Street and Seventh Avenue, motioning cars to stop so he could cross the street. He was arrested the next day by police in the subway at Penn Station, officials said.
Burke is being held without bail at Rikers Island, according to court records.