Star Realtor Linda Stein's Murder: The Assistant Did It

Oct. 27 2008, Published 7:07 a.m. ET

Linda Stein, realtor to stars like Sting and Madonna and former manager of the Ramones, was bludgeoned to death last week in her Fifth Avenue apartment. Now Elton John has announced he'll perform at her memorial and police believe that Stein's personal assistant, Natavia Lowery, was the culprit. After her arrest in Virginia Beach, Lowery gave some sort of partial confession, saying that Stein "just kept yelling at her." Prior to her employment with the tempestuous Stein, Lowery had worked at Rogers & Cowan, a New York PR firm, although her stint in the clipboard mafia apparently did not prepare her fully for the rigors of the Manhattan real estate world. Either that, or she was slightly unhinged, as most people whose bosses are screamers do not, in fact, bludgeon them to death. As tempting as it may be at times. NYT