By Shayna Jacobs
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT — The attorney for the accused killer of "Realtor to the Stars" Linda Stein provided a dramatic reenactment of the fatal beating for the jury that caused one of Stein's daughters to leave his trial summation in tears on Monday.
Kneeling on one knee in front of the jury, Thomas Giovanni slapped the ground repeatedly for each of the fatal blows Stein received, and he stomped on the floor to represent the killer breaking Stein's spine. The performance was intended to show that it would have taken someone far stronger than his client, Natavia Lowery, 28, to commit the crime.
During the jarring display, Stein's oldest daughter, Samantha Wells, burst into tears and ran out of the courtroom.
"I'm deeply sorry that I have to do that in front of Mandy Stein," Giovanni said, referring to Stein's youngest daughter, who found her mother's lifeless body hours after the killing. "But the reality is that we have to defend this case, and no matter their loss, this is a trial."
Giovanni also said the case against Lowery, Stein's personal assistant, is riddled with inconsistencies and substandard police work.
As homicide detectives honed in on Lowery as the primary suspect in Stein's 2007 murder, they ignored other suspects including a roofer with a suspicious gash on his hand and other employees in Stein's Upper East Side building, Giovanni argued.
"This is what your police force did on one for he most important cases in the last few years," Giovanni told the Manhattan jury in his final presentation to them before they decide Lowery's fate.
Lowery is charged with murdering Stein and stealing nearly $30,000 by abusing her access to her boss's credit card accounts. Prosecutors argue Lowery killed Stein using a wooden yoga stretching stick when she was confronted about the stolen money.
Prosecutors were expected to present their closing statements this afternoon.
