"Two lives destroyed" -- a horrifying reminder of how slender a thread we're tethered by

Karyn Kay (from Facebook)

by Ken

I debated all day whether I wanted to blog about this story, and finally decided that, horrible as it is, it's hardly worse than writing about, say, Rick Santorum ending his quest for the presidency (this year, anyway).

I hope you can believe me when I say that I don't intend this story to illustrate any grand point or prove any theories, except that it's an exceedingly slender thread by which we all hang in this mortal coil. Before we get to the story proper, there's an update: "Karyn Kay's Son Told Cops Beating Mom to Death Was a 'Mistake'":

MANHATTAN — Karyn Kay's brutal murder in her Midtown apartment was a "mistake," her son allegedly told cops according to stunning court papers, as his lawyer blamed the horrific beating death of the high school teacher and filmmaker on the "heavy" epilepsy medication the teen was taking at his emotional arraignment Wednesday. [The DNAinfo photo shows Henry Wachtel in the back of a police car after being led from the Midtown North Precinct yesterday.]

Lloyd Epstein called the bloody incident Tuesday morning at the West 55th Street home that Kay, a LaGuardia High School English teacher and Pratt Institute instructor, shared with her 19-year-old son, Henry Wachtel, "tragic."

"Everyone knows that Henry is an epileptic that takes medication, there are and sometimes frightening consequences that occur from taking the medication or not taking the medication," he said outside court.

There's quite a lot more to the new story, much of which is quite possibly more recent than the original one, but quite frankly I don't have the heart to go through them. I'm just going to present the original story from last night, as update this morning, and let you check out the newer one if you like.

LaGuardia HS Teacher Karyn Kay Beaten to Death by Son, Cops Say

April 10, 2012 7:11pm
Updated April 11, 2012 8:55am

By Murray Weiss, Jill Colvin, Leslie Albrecht, Ben Fractenberg and Tom Liddy
DNAinfo Staff

MANHATTAN — A public school teacher was beaten to death by her son in her Midtown high-rise building Tuesday morning after the teen had a seizure, cops and sources said.

Karyn Kay, 63, an English teacher at LaGuardia High School who was also a filmmaker and an instructor at Pratt Institute, was found with severe head trauma at 9:30 a.m. by cops who responded to a 911 call at West 55th Street and Eighth Avenue. The high school where she worked counts among its students Madonna's daughter, Lourdes, and among its alumni, writer Jonathan Lethem.

Kay was rushed to New York Hospital where she was pronounced dead, police said.

Sources said that Kay's 19-year-old son, Henry Wachtel, had a seizure and beat her when the episode ended.

According to other sources, the victim had called 911 to ask for help with her son's seizure when the teen allegedly attacked her.

Wachtel was charged with murder late Tuesday night.

The victim's Zumba instructor, Irena Meletiou, said Kay told her that her son was having anger issues.

The teen "was having some kind of anger issues and she was trying to figure out why," said Meletiou, of Astoria, Queens.

“She said, 'I’m worried about my son.'”

A teary Meletiou, who had known Kay for about a year, said that she was shocked at the news.

"I couldn't believe it," she said. "She was a wonderful mom."

Neighbor Leigh Miller, 54, who lives on the same floor as the Kays, said that Kay and her son had a "volatile" relationship.

"The furniture would be flying," she said. "It was a very unhealthy, dysfunctional mother and child relationship."

At times, the situation got so bad that "I would go down and tell the doorman that they're really at it again," she said.

"It doesn't surprise me that things spiraled out of control."

Still, she said Kay's son was "very quiet" and "very protective of his mother."

According to her bio on Pratt's website, Kay, a visiting instructor, has written three books on film including "Women and the Cinema: A Critical Anthology," "Myrna Loy" and "Besides Berman."

She was working on a feature film, tentatively titled "Service," and had written and produced the feature film "Call Me" (1988), starring Steve Buscemi and David Straithairn, as well as several shorts, the bio said.

She also conducted the first interview with Dorothy Arzner, the first woman director in Hollywood.

Kay frequently wrote letters to the New York Times on a variety of subjects, including bullying in school and teacher pay.
Her death left neighbors shocked.

"I spoke to her last night," said Jonathan Cohen, 49, who lives on the same floor as Kay. "I'm shocked. She was a very nice person."

"Two lives destroyed," he said.

Another neighbor, Mary McKenzie, said that Kay looked worn out recently.

“I can’t wrap my head around it," McKenzie said. "She seemed really worn out and tired."

Some of Kay's students at LaGuardia lauded her teaching on the site, ratemyteachers.com.

"She's honestly a great teacher and willing to help her students. She got me a little interested in black and white films," wrote one reviewer on Dec. 27, 2011. "Knows her stuff in film."

Another wrote: "ms. kay = embodiment of amazingness. she makes sure that everyone's opinions are heard and considered.

A 19-year-old former student at LaGuardia, who took Kay's creative writing class in her senior year said she "never felt so much love" for a teacher.

"She cared so much about her students, even students who were cruel to her and resistant to work. She really believed that no matter who we were, we were smart and had something to say. She really believed in all of us."

The student, a songwriter, said Kay took her craft seriously and her discipline inspired students.

"My life is all about creativity and she definitely affected the way I think about creativity," the student said. "If there was something she had to write about it, she saw it as the most important thing, and that's how I feel about songwriting."

"She had a really warm spirit," the student said. "I can't believe this."

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