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Judge orders psych evaluation for man accused of killing woman in Central Park
By
Samantha Max
Published Oct 1, 2026
Modified Oct 1, 2026
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Charles Lane / Gothamist
By
Samantha Max
Published Oct 1, 2026
Modified Oct 1, 2026
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A Manhattan judge ordered a psychiatric evaluation on Thursday for the man accused of killing a 63-year-old woman in Central Park earlier this week.
Jonathan Robles, 36, was arraigned from the hospital Thursday morning on a charge of second-degree murder.
Prosecutor Harrison Schweiloch said an indictment has been filed against Robles. He is expected to appear in court later this month.
The judge ordered that Robles be held in custody without bail for now.
Robles' defense attorney Mitchell Schuman with New York County Defender Services requested the mental health evaluation and told the judge he may ask for changes to his client’s bail conditions at the next court date. He did not immediately respond to requests for additional comment after the arraignment.
The judge ordered that Robles, who had been staying at a homeless shelter near Hudson Yards, be held in custody without bail for now. Robles is accused of killing Elise Hill, who used to sleep in Central Park and was known to members of the park's birding community. Several of Hill's friends, who affectionately called her "Lee" and said she used to sketch birds, gathered in the Ramble after her death. Birders said they used to give Hill tents and other camping gear to protect her from the elements.
Officers responded to a call about an unconscious person near East Drive and East 74th Street shortly before 10 a.m. on Sunday, according to the NYPD. A Central Park detective found Hill at the Summerhouse, a wooden gazebo in the Ramble, with blunt force trauma to her head and cuts on her head and hands, according to police and a criminal complaint. The detective also found pieces of a stick that appeared to have blood on them, according to the complaint. Emergency medical responders pronounced Hill dead at the scene. A spokesperson for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said Hill’s official cause of death is pending further study.
Robles identified Hill in an old photograph and told the detective that she had hit him with a stick, so he took the stick from her.
“I hit her with it more than 20 times,” he said, according to the complaint. “I did it until she couldn’t hit me anymore.”
Robles was also arraigned on Thursday on an older desk appearance ticket for public lewdness. In March 2025, police found him exposed and engaged in a sexual act in a subway station bathroom, according to a criminal complaint.
This story has been updated with additional information from the arraignment.
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Samantha Max
Samantha reports on whether New Yorkers feel safe and whether the institutions that are supposed to protect them are working. Before coming to WNYC/Gothamist, she spent three years covering the criminal justice system in Tennessee for Nashville Public Radio. Her reporting on Nashville's police department received multiple awards, including the Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize. Samantha was also part of the inaugural class of Report for America, a service journalism program that sends up-and-coming reporters to local newsrooms across the country. She is a Northwestern University grad, a Baltimore native and fluent in Spanish. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal: samanthamaxwnyc.93.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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