The sister of a former thief accused of brutally thrashing a straphanger in Times Square told The Post on Monday that her brother should never have been free to walk the streets.
Josette Simon wept as she recalled that she once begged a hospital to keep her troubled brother locked up after being derailed by a mental illness.
“He was a hardworking man, he was a giving man,” said 65-year-old Simon through the tears of his younger brother, 61-year-old Marshall Simon.
“At the age of 14, he started digging snow. He used to drive a taxi. He worked from the bottom up to become the manager at a parking lot in Manhattan. He always liked New York.
"Somehow, in her 30s, something happened and she lost it," she said. “He kept watching and listening to the people behind him. One of my sisters took him in. He paused, and then he said, 'I have to go back to New York.' ,
The NYPD lists the subway-shaw suspect's name as Simon Marshall, although his sister identified him as Marshall Simon.
Atlanta, Ga. Josette Simon, who lives outside the U.S., said after her mother's death 23 years ago that her brother was diagnosed with schizophrenia, his conditioning had worsened.
"She was taking care of him," said Simon. “He had to call the police a couple of times, but after that, he went downstairs. He has been in and out of mental hospitals for at least 20 years. ,
Marshall Simon was charged with murder in Saturday's random attack on 40-year-old Michelle Alyssa Go, who was waiting for an R train at Times Square station around 9:20 a.m. when she allegedly attacked her on an oncoming pushed in the way of the train.
Marshall, who has served a state prison sentence for robbery and attempted robbery, turns himself in to police on Canal Street minutes later.
He admitted to reporters that he pushed Go and claimed it was because he was "God".
His sister told The Post, "I remember one of the hospitals begging, 'Let him be,' because once he was out, he didn't want to take the drug, and it was the drug that caused him." kept him going."
"The last time we talked, he said 'they' were coming after him," said Josette Simon. "I could tell it was his illness. He swore they saw him hiding in the cell."
She said that she was devastated to hear about Gow's death.
"This thing is tearing me apart," said Simon. "I feel like I can't even talk about it. My heart aches for anyone who has lost loved ones, be it mother, sister, daughter.
"I'd just like to put it there, to apologize, to feel for them," she said. "It's tearing me apart. My brother was sick for a long time.
"Of course, I never thought something like this would happen," she said. "And it's not just my brother. I don't think enough people look at mental illness as a disease, like cancer, AIDS or anything else. It's a disease.
"I'm his big sister, and it really breaks my heart that there was nothing I could do," said Josette Simon. "And they let him into the street. Unfortunately, they never had my number to call me or tell me, 'Get your brother.' ,
Asked what should happen to his brother now, Simon replied, "Get him some help.
"Don't lock him like a beast with people who are really killers," she said. "Get her some help. I'm not saying let her out, but help her."