Stein Murder Case Heads To Trial

More than two years after Linda Stein was found dead, face down in a pool of blood inside her $3 million New York apartment, the former punk manager’s murder trial is moving forward.

Stein, 62, co-managed The Ramones at the height of their career and was a veteran of the CBGB punk scene of the ’70s.

She later switched careers but didn’t forget her musical roots as she became a “realtor to the stars,” brokering apartments for entertainers such as Madonna, Sting and Billy Joel.

Her ex-husband, Seymour Stein, was the president of Sire Records, where acts like Madonna and The Talking Heads got their start. Elton John is the godfather of one of her daughters.

Stein was found dead Oct. 30, 2007, of a beating and fractured skull. The suspect? Her personal assistant, Natavia Lowery.

Lowery, now 28, claimed she knew nothing about the murder but pointed a finger at an alleged masked stranger who told her not to report what she had seen. Later, in a tearful confession, Lowery said her “mind went into shutdown mode” as she fatally clubbed Stein six times.

Lowery’s job requirements ranged from clerical work to doing her boss’s hair to loading her marijuana pipe, Lowery told authorities. She was hired by Stein’s real estate firm in July 2007.

Lowery described her boss as foul-mouthed and abusive. The personal assistant now says her confession was false.

Prosecutors say Lowery stole more than $30,000 from Stein through forged checks and other means, using the money to pay student loans and other bills. After Stein found out her personal assistant was stealing, Lowery killed. She then allegedly used her boss’ ATM card to withdraw $800, just minutes after the murder.

“Natavia Lowery is a thief and a cold-blooded killer who ended her victim’s life to cover up the constant and deep violation of trust,” Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Joan Illuzzi-Orbon wrote in court papers.

Lowery faces 25 years to life in prison.