Broadway Alum Rhamell Burke Arrested For Deadly Subway Shove

Broadway alum Rhamell Burke is being charged for murder after the fatal shoving of a 76-year-old man in a Chelsea subway station. The performer, who appeared on Broadway in King Kong, pushed Ross Falzone down the 18th Street station stairs on Thursday, just hours after being released from psychiatric hold.

The death is currently being investigated as a homicide, after police say that the shoving appeared to be unprovoked, 7 reports. Falzone was found unresponsive by officers before being pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital early Friday morning. He suffered a traumatic brain injury, a fractured spine and a fractured rib.

Earlier on Thursday, Burke was picked up by police for acting erratically outside of the 17th Precinct stationhouse on East 51st Street. They were taken for a psychiatric evaluation at Bellevue Hospital and were released the same afternoon.

Burke was arrested for the subway shove at Penn Station on Friday around 3:30 pm. They were arraigned in court on Saturday. They are currently being held without bail at Rikers Island.

The performer has been arrested four times since February. Past incidents include assault on a Port Authority police officer and assault of a stranger, which they were on supervised release for. 

Mayor Zohran Mamdani has revealed that he has launched an investigation into Bellevue’s potential mishandling of Burke’s psychiatric evaluation.

“New Yorkers deserve answers. That is why I’ve directed NYC Health + Hospitals to conduct both an immediate investigation on what steps should have been taken to prevent this tragedy and a comprehensive review of their psychiatric evaluation and discharge protocols,” Mamdani stated.

Burke made their Broadway debut in They were also seen in the 2022 Off-Broadway production of Black No More.