Stein, 62, co-managed the Ramones at the height of their career and was a veteran of the CBGB punk scene of the 1970s.

She later switched careers but didn’t forget her music 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 artists 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. Cause of death? A beating and fractured skull. The suspect? Her personal assistant, Natavia Lowery.

Lowery, now 28, claimed she knew nothing about the murder but then pointed a finger at an alleged masked stranger who told her not to report what she had seen. She then switched up her story again, confessing to the crime in a videotaped statement to prosecutors.

In a tearful confession, Lowery said her “mind went into shutdown mode” as she fatally clubbed Stein six times with a piece of exercise equipment, a wooden stick used for stretching exercises.

As Stein’s aide, Lowery’s job requirements ranged from clerical work to doing her boss’ 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 confession noted that Lowery completely lost it and started hitting Stein after her boss insulted and cursed at her and blew marijuana smoke in her face.

“‘Leave me alone. Leave me alone!'” Lowery said she recalled thinking during the beating.

The personal assistant now says her confession was false.

Lowery’s lawyers are waiting for a judge’s decision about whether or not they can educate jurors about the psychology surrounding false confessions.

The defense points out that Lowery made her confession without a lawyer present and after being questioned through the night for more than 12 hours.

“In its pursuit of Natavia Lowery, the government conducted a lawless and illegal investigation,” defense lawyer John Christie wrote in court papers.

Prosecutors say that Lowery told police she didn’t want a lawyer there and that the body of knowledge about false confessions “is scientifically immature and unreliable.”

The defense previously tried to keep Lowery’s confession out of the trial but a judge ruled in April that her confession could be used as evidence, agreeing that Lowery made it clear she didn’t want her lawyer present.

Prosecutors say Lowery stole more than $30,000 from Stein through forged checks and other tactics, using the money to pay student loans and other bills. After Stein found out her personal assistant was stealing from her, Lowery killed her and then 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.

Illuzzi-Orbon said Lowery admitted to using Stein’s ATM card after the murder and that police later found surveillance video of Lowery at an ATM, according to ABC News.

During a December 2007 bail hearing, Lowery’s family accused Stein’s daughter, Mandy Stein, of killing her mother.

“She knows she killed her mother, that’s why she’s crying,” Lowery’s mother, Lotti Lowery-Walsh, said during the hearing, according to the New York Daily News and reported by ABC.

Lowery came up to Mandy Stein outside the courtroom, shouting “You know you did it.”

If found guilty, Lowery faces 25 years to life in prison.

Click here for the AP story.

Click here for the ABC News story.