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Central Park birders, others remember 63-year-old woman killed in park
By
Charles Lane
Published Sep 28, 2026
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Charles Lane / Gothamist
By
Charles Lane
Published Sep 28, 2026
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People who said they knew a 63-year-old woman found dead in Central Park on Sunday remembered her as a familiar presence among the park’s birders and others who spent time there. Several said they knew her simply as Lee.
Police found the woman unconscious and unresponsive with trauma to her head after responding to a 911 call around 9:43 a.m. near East Drive and East 74th Street, according to the NYPD. Emergency medical workers pronounced her dead at the scene. Police officials said she appeared to be hit with a piece of wood at the Summerhouse in the Ramble.
That evening, police arrested Jonathan Robles, 36, and charged him with murder and criminal possession of a weapon. He was scheduled for arraignment Tuesday and hasn’t yet been assigned a lawyer.
The NYPD has not said what led to the woman's death or publicly released her name, saying her identity was being withheld pending notification of her family. But several people interviewed in Central Park on Monday said they knew the woman as Lee and described her as a longtime presence around the Ramble.
A group of people who knew her gathered Monday at the Summerhouse, a wooden shelter in the Ramble, the winding network of paths in one of the park's wooded areas.
Alberto Ramirez, 51, said Lee regularly stayed at the shelter and kept her tent there during the day.
"She always kept it out because she always had a lot," Ramirez said. "But the others, they come in at a certain time and they set up their tents."
Ramirez said Lee helped him when he needed somewhere to stay after leaving prison.
"I used to live here when I first came out of prison because of her," he said.
Robert DeCandido, who leads bird walks in Central Park as Birding Bob, said he had known Lee for years. He said birders enlisted her to help keep bird feeders filled and provided money for birdseed.
DeCandido and Leslie Porter, who also knew Lee, said people in the birding community helped Lee get camping gear, including tents and outdoor clothing. They said Lee was also an artist who sketched birds and sold some of her drawings for $250.
"She was a very tough, streetwise New York City woman," DeCandido said. "Really, it was Lee against the world."
Dan Stevenson, a birder who lives a few blocks east of the park, also remembered seeing Lee regularly.
"She was a regular here," he said. "Never bothered anybody."
Porter said she sometimes spent the night at the shelter to make sure Lee was all right. She remembered Lee helping her when she needed food or protection from the cold.
"She did help me a lot," Porter said. "With food when I got hungry, or when it gets so cold she'd give me a blanket."
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manhattan
new york city
public safety
Charles Lane
Charles is a Day-of reporter focused on breaking news and enterprise. He’s very friendly and can be reached at [email protected], or more securely on whatsapp/signal 631-295-6715
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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