Natavia Lowery (far left) is walked by detectives on her way to Central Booking.Photo: Gregory Mango / Polaris
After Linda Stein’s personal assistant, Natavia Lowery, confessed to the murder of her boss on Friday, a few new details emerged, among them that Stein had a pot habit to rival Jimmy Cayne’s. According to police, Lowery said it was Stein’s blowing marijuana smoke in her face, berating her for being slow, and making vague racial comments that prompted her to pick up a “yoga stick” and smack her in the head seven times. Stein’s daughter Mandy admitted her mother could be difficult but said that it was less the pot than the medication that caused her mother to behave churlishly. “If Miss Lowery had just walked out of the room and come back in fifteen minutes, my mother would have calmed down,” she said, adding that that’s what all the other help did. Right? This is New York City, don’t people know that abuse is just part of the job? But what caused Natavia Lowery to lose her mind? Is it possible she didn’t? Her father is saying her confession was coerced, and her friends and relatives maintain that despite the confession, she didn’t do it. “She does not have the heart to kill anyone,” Lowery’s high-school sweetheart told the Daily News. “She would not smack a fly on her forehead.” Um. Unfortunate metaphor, that. Lowery’s aunt concurred: “My niece doesn’t fight,” she said. “She is too afraid to break a nail or get a scratch on her face.” But Lowery was, after all, a would-be model, who “dreamed of gracing the covers of magazines,” according to the Daily News. Maybe this was one way to get her wish!
Last Disrespects [NYP]
Aide Confesses She Beat Linda Stein To Death With a Yoga Stick [NYDN]
Earlier:Intel’s Coverage of Linda Stein
