Prosecutors are reviewing medical records to determine whether Marshalee Reid’s death is connected to the 2025 subway station attack.
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The felony assault trial of two women accused of attacking MTA station agent Marshalee Reid has been postponed following Reid’s death, giving Brooklyn prosecutors time to review medical evidence and determine whether the case should change.
Reid, 52, died Oct. 25, more than a year after the June 28, 2025, confrontation at the New Lots Avenue subway station in Brooklyn. The Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office is investigating whether there is a medical link between the assault and her death, according to News 12 Brooklyn. Prosecutors are reviewing medical records, and the outcome could determine whether the charges against Ayizhae Thomas and Lashea Aldridge should be upgraded.
The trial had been scheduled to begin Wednesday, Nov. 4. CBS New York also reported that proceedings in the felony assault case were postponed after Reid’s death. Authorities have not announced a conclusion about what caused Reid’s death or whether the 2025 attack contributed to it. Until that review is complete, the existing assault case remains the basis of the prosecution.
Thomas and Aldridge were indicted in connection with the June 2025 confrontation inside the elevated New Lots Avenue station. A Kings County Supreme Court decision filed in the case says the women were accused of punching Reid during a dispute near the turnstiles. Surveillance video captured the women and a toddler entering the station and later showed them elsewhere in and near the station, according to the court record.
The court record says both defendants acknowledged in statements to police that they were involved in a fight with Reid and her daughter but maintained that they acted in self-defense. The ruling said identification was therefore not the central dispute in the case. Thomas and Aldridge are defendants in a pending criminal prosecution, and their claims have not been decided by a jury.
Police accounts released after the attack said the confrontation began after fare evasion at the station. Authorities said Reid opened a mezzanine gate and asked for a fare after one woman went through the turnstile without paying and another tried to enter through the gate. Police said Reid was then punched in the face and body, and one of the women struck her with a set of keys. Reid was taken to Brookdale Hospital Medical Center after the attack.
Reid had already been recovering from brain surgery when the assault occurred. TWU Local 100 said she was assigned to restricted duty at the time. The union said after her death that Reid had recently undergone another brain surgery, but neither the union nor prosecutors have established publicly that the subway assault caused or contributed to her death.
The distinction is now central to the criminal case. Establishing a connection between an alleged assault and a later death can require prosecutors to evaluate medical records and other evidence before deciding whether different charges are supported. The Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office has said its investigation will determine whether an upgrade is warranted. No upgraded charge had been announced as of Thursday.
Reid had worked for the transit system since 2022, according to TWU Local 100. The union said she was a mother and grandmother. Nicolette Browne, division chair of the union’s Stations Department, said members were devastated by her death and wanted a full examination of the circumstances surrounding it.
“We are seeking justice for the assault she suffered and a full and thorough review of the facts,” Browne said.
The postponement leaves the defendants’ trial on hold while prosecutors examine the new medical information. Authorities have not announced a new trial date or a decision on whether the charges will change.
Author note: Last updated Nov. 5, 2026.