If I had been running this blog eight years ago, I would have definitely written about Jane Andrews, the Natavia Lowery of her day. However, former celeb assistant Andrews (she spent nine years working for Sarah “Fergie” Ferguson, the Duchess of York and mom of Princess Beatrice) didn’t kill her boss – she murdered her former boyfriend, Thomas Cressman. Instead of hitting him with a yoga stick, she hit him with a cricket bat.
Andrews was sentenced to life imprisonment. Today, British authorities announced that Andrews has escaped from the prison she was being housed in. She was not present for the daily 8 AM roll call and a search for her began immediately.
In other news, Jane Andrews’ name makes me think of the real Jane Andrews, one of Anne Shirley’s chums from the Anne of Green Gables books. Case in point: this is where I landed after typing “Jane Andrews” into Wiki.
I was really excited when I heard the news that Joan Jett was going to play a character based on slain realtor Linda Stein on an episode of Law and Order: Criminal Intent. The episode aired last night on USA, and was disappointing, to say the least. It’s pretty standard procedure for L&O to take “ripped from the headlines” storylines and then add some twists so that the plot doesn’t exactly mirror the real-life event. However, this episode mangled the plot so much that Joan Jett was barely featured. Her character was already dead when the episode started. She appeared in a short flashback scene (a tape from her character’s TV talk show that was taped the day before she died). The Natavia Lowery subplot where her assistant was a suspect got cleared up within the first 20 minutes of the episode. The rest of the hour was based around the ongoing twists and turns of Jett’s character’s son and next-door neighbors. The episode wasn’t a total wash, but if you went in hoping to see more of Jett (as I did), it was a big disappointment. And it didn’t even have Vincent D’Onofrio in it.
Perennially badass rocker chick Joan Jett will be appearing on an upcoming episode of Law and Order: Criminal Intent (or, as it’s more commonly known, Law and Order: The One with Vincent D’Onofrio). Jett will play “the boss from hell” who gets murdered. Of course, the prime suspect is her long suffering assistant. No word on whether the episode will be based on the Linda Stein/Natavia Lowery case, but that would follow the “ripped from the headlines” tradition of the show.
Set your DVRs, folks.
In the ongoing saga of Natavia Lowery, former personal assistant to celeb realtor Linda Stein (pictured below), Lowery was today denied bail. She’s in jail, charged with murdering Stein. However, recently DNA from an unidentified male was found in Stein’s sink, which means it’s possible a male killer washed his hands in the sink. Adding to the drama, Lowery is also five months pregnant.
More on this story is on CNN.
For those of you who haven’t been following along at home, Natavia Lowery is a PA accused with killing her former employer, musician manager turned celebrity real estate broker Linda Stein. But it wouldn’t be a Law and Order episode in the making without a couple of new twists and turns. First, Lowery’s lawyer claims that her confession didn’t happen in his presence, which makes it inadmissible in court. Second, Lowery is-surprise!-seven weeks pregnant. Is it bad that we’re already envisioning Sam Waterston as Jack McCoy trying to browbeat a confession out of a pregnant chick on the witness stand? Is it bad that we’re pretty sure the episode is going to be awesome?
Two tickets to hell, please.
One of the biggest news stories going on right now (at least it is in the NYC area–you can’t pass a newsstand without seeing mention of it) is the Linda Stein story. Stein, a former manager of the Ramones who became a celebrity real estate broker, was found murdered in her swanky Fifth Avenue apartment. Over the weekend, Ms. Stein’s personal assistant, Natavia Lowery, confessed to killing her boss after Stein was verbally abusive and blew marijuana smoke in her face.
The New York Times‘ coverage of the Stein story has also included a larger debate about the way people should treat their personal assistants. Here are some of the comments from both sides of the aisle:
“There is a snapping point. People in this city treat assistants like **** everyday and are always astonished when something like this happens. Treat people with dignity and this will stop happening.”– JustStop
“Being a personal assistant is no more likely to promote homidical behavior than any other job involving a supervisor and a worker reporting directly to him or her. The guys who have done school mass killings, the postal workers who have done similar workplace mass killings, none were personal assistants.”- RickAnalyst
“This is a horrible crime and there is no excuse for killing a person. But rich and powerful people sometime treat their subordinates like dirt. Look at home [sic] many people Naomi Campbell has treated like dogs.”- Giselle
“Of course nothing justifies murder. But those of us who have worked as personal assistants to the famous (or those who are famous in their own minds) can never make the rest of you understand the cruelties, small and large, that assault us every day.”- Ann
Want to weigh in? The debate is ongoing here.
Earlier this week, we reported on the murder of Linda Stein, Ramones-manager-cum-star-NYC-real-estate-broker. Stein was found dead in her Upper East Side penthouse apartment. While initial reports claimed that Stein’s assistant was wanted for questioning, there was some confusion–she had two assistants. Raul Diaz Bernal, Stein’s assistant at her real estate firm Prudential Douglas Elliman, was questioned and not charged.
Today, Stein’s personal assistant, Natavia Lowery was arrested for Stein’s murder. Lowery, who had a previous criminal record, was arrested in Virginia, where she was visiting her boyfriend.
Look, people, we’ve said it before. It’s one thing to fantasize about killing your boss, but it’s another thing to actually do it. That’s why we have job search tips on this site. New motto: Don’t Kill, Quit!
Linda Stein had a fascinating past and an even more fascinating death. Formerly the manager of The Ramones, she became a star real estate agent. Last week, Stein was found murdered in her super-swank Fifth Avenue apartment. The web site Ireland Online reports:
Former Ramones manager Linda Stein’s personal assistant is to be questioned by police investigating her murder.
Stein, 62, was found dead in the kitchen of her New York apartment on Tuesday night.
Raul Diaz Bernal – who worked as Stein’s assistant at brokerage firm Prudential Douglas Elliman – tells The New York Daily News he is scheduled to meet with police for questioning.
I know a lot of us fantasize about killing our bosses, but actually doing it? That’s a whole separate issue. We’ll post more as information becomes available.
