NYC woman jailed for anti-Asian attack now arrested for same-day murder, arson
By Carl Samson
A woman who shoved and hurled racial slurs at an Asian man on a New York City subway in 2021 has been arrested once again on Friday, this time for a murder and an arson that occurred on the same day.
Tandika Wright, 36, is accused of killing Lavina Nolley, 49, in the NYCHA Queensbridge Houses in Long Island City on Dec. 9, 2021. She allegedly slashed the victim repeatedly before setting the apartment ablaze.
Police found Nolley with burns and bodily trauma at around 6:20 p.m., PIX11 reported. She was taken to a hospital, where she later died due to injuries from smoke inhalation.
Nolley’s death was ruled a homicide. It has also been linked to drugs, with one police source saying that both Wright and Nolley were suspected users, according to the New York Daily News.
Wright, a repeat offender, was arrested in January 2022 for the anti-Asian attack.
She pleaded guilty to an aggravated harassment charge in May and was sentenced to 60 days in jail.
The incident, which occurred on the same day as the murder, took place on a southbound F train approaching 23rd Street station at around 6:15 p.m. — apparently just minutes before Nolley was located.
“Hey, are you a ch*nk? You people brought the virus here. You people killed my people,” Wright told the victim before shoving him as she fled.
At the time, the Brooklyn resident was already on parole after being convicted of attempted first-degree manslaughter. She was initially arrested on Dec. 11, 2014, for that case and charged with second-degree murder.
Wright then spent 2015 to 2019 in prison before being released on parole. Records show she was also behind bars from 2011 to 2013 for fourth-degree arson, according to the New York Post.
With the latest incident, Wright now has a record of about three dozen arrests.
Wright was charged with murder, manslaughter, assault, arson and criminal possession of a weapon after Friday’s arrest.
She was ordered held without bail, according to court records.
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