A homeless man is accused of the "truly shocking" death of a 74-year-old woman after he allegedly pushed her into the path of an oncoming San Francisco train.
Authorities charged Trevor Belmont, also known as Hoak Taing, 49, with the victim's murder Monday night at the Bay Area Rapid Transit's Powell Street Station, according to prosecutors.
Loved ones identified the slain as Corazon Dandan, a telephone operator at a hotel in Union Square. Corazon had just clocked out of her shift and was heading home when she was allegedly pushed to her. She suffered severe and fatal head injuries and died at San Francisco general Hospital.
"It is a tragic way of passing away, that is the most painful part," her nephew, Dr. Alvin Dandan, told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Dandan described his aunt – known lovingly as "Tita Cora" – as a "brave, independent woman" who immigrated from the Philippines in the 1980s.
"She put me through medical school," Dandan, who works as a doctor in Illinois, explained.
Corazon was in the middle of erecting a vacation home in the Philippines when she died.
"We were in the process of building it, and now she's gone," he said.
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins offered her condolences to Corazon's loved ones.
"The nature of this incident at Powell Street BART Station was tragic and truly shocking. I would like to express my deepest condolences to the victim's family, friends, and colleagues," Jenkins said in a statement.
"Unprovoked attacks, especially on our most vulnerable, are unacceptable and will not be tolerated. San Francisco residents, workers, and visitors should be able to freely move about and utilize our public transportation systems without fear. My office will now do everything in our power to ensure that there is justice in this case."
