NYC subway shove victim’s aunt wants to rip alleged killer’s ‘f–king heart out’ and says he’s not mentally ill— just ‘vicious’
The aunt of a straphanger fatally shoved in front of a Manhattan train said she wanted to rip the alleged killer’s “f–ing heart out” as she faced him in court for the first time Wednesday — and blasted using mental illness as an excuse for the random attack.
Christine Conte, 70, went off the rails outside a Manhattan courtroom after accused subway shover Carlton McPherson pleaded not guilty to murdering her nephew, Jason Volz, at an East Harlem subway station last month.
“I wanted to leap out and rip his f–king heart out, rip his heart out,” Conte seethed to reporters when asked about seeing McPherson for the first time.
The distraught woman, who referred to herself as Volz’s “caretaker,” cried hysterically inside the tense courtroom as McPherson was brought in, muttering, “Why did he kill Jason?”
Court officers tried escorting her out, apparently at the behest of Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Curtis Farber.
“If the judge just asked for it, you have to leave,” said one sergeant, who eventually let Conte and her son stay after she calmed down.
McPherson, 24, didn’t flash a sinister smile like the one he sported after his arrest — but sat quietly during the brief Manhattan Supreme Court arraignment on an indictment charging him with second-degree murder.
His family — including his brother, who has said McPherson suffers from bipolar disorder — sat quietly on the other side of the courtroom, and didn’t speak after the hearing.
After court, Conte blasted the family’s claims about McPherson’s mental illness — and claimed that he is just an “evil person” and a “motherf–ker.”
“He’s just a vicious person. He’s mean, he’s troubled. Does that mean everyone who is sick needs medication? I don’t think so,” Conte said.
“Why do they keep blaming everything on medication or mental illness? No, there’s a lot of people out in this world that want to hurt people. They’re just nasty, they’re just demons. They just want to hurt.”
The aunt had previously told The Post that she warned Volz days before the fatal shove not to take the subway because of the uptick in violence underground.
Volz, 55, was a father and native New Yorker who worked as a carpenter, when he was allegedly shoved by McPherson in front of a subway train at East 125th Street and Lexington Avenue station shortly before 7 p.m. on March 25.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, in a statement Wednesday, called it a “completely unprovoked act of violence” and vowed that he would continue to hold accountable attackers who target people on the subways.
“Mr. Volz was a father and native New Yorker, and my heart goes out to his family and loved ones in their ongoing grief,” Bragg said. “I thank the prosecutors for their hard work in securing this indictment and we will continue to do all we can to hold people accountable who threaten the safety of fellow New Yorkers in our subway system.”
McPherson’s attorney was not available for comment after his court appearance.
The judge kept McPherson remanded in custody and ordered him back to court on August 12.
