Steve Roth & Marla Hanson: The Attack, Trial, and Civil Suit

The attack on Marla Hanson took place shortly after midnight on June 5, 1986, when two men hired by her former landlord, Steven Roth, held the 24-year-old model down on a Manhattan sidewalk and slashed her face with razor blades. The assault required roughly 150 stitches, left her permanently scarred, and grew out of Roth’s anger over her rejection of his sexual advances and an unresolved $850 security deposit.¹

The Landlord Who Wouldn’t Take No

Hanson, an aspiring fashion model, had rented an apartment from Roth, a 28-year-old television makeup artist. Investigators later found that the relationship soured over about two months, driven by Hanson’s refusal of Roth’s romantic interest and the fight over her $850 deposit.¹ Hanson moved out and later told CNN’s Larry King that Roth had been letting himself into her apartment uninvited.²

On the night of June 4, Hanson met Roth to discuss getting the deposit back. According to prosecutors, what followed was a planned ambush.

The Attack

Outside a West Side bar, two men grabbed Hanson and pinned her while slicing her face with single-edged razor blades.³ The attackers were Steven Bowman, 27, a childhood friend of Roth’s, and Darren Norman, 20. Prosecutors said Roth had hired them both.⁴

Hanson testified that Roth walked beside her moments before the attack with his arm around her, scolding her for not being “unfriendly,” then stood by as the two men seized her. In her account, he “just stood there not helping” while they cut her face.⁵ The injuries included a long S-shaped gash from her right cheek to the corner of her mouth. A severed facial muscle left permanent damage to her smile, and she underwent extensive reconstructive surgery.²

The Convictions

Roth was tried in State Supreme Court in Manhattan before Justice Jeffrey M. Atlas on a charge of first-degree assault. Prosecutors argued he orchestrated the attack, with Bowman holding Hanson down while Norman wielded the blade.⁴

Roth’s defense was unusual. He testified that he had been in a secret 15-year homosexual relationship with Bowman and had broken it off hours before the attack, and that Bowman slashed Hanson in a jealous rage after learning Roth planned to marry. The defense also argued Bowman was on crack cocaine at the time.⁶ Roth admitted he had lied to police after the attack, initially telling them Hanson had been attacked by “two tall black men with mustaches,” a story he said he invented to protect his lover.⁷ On December 20, 1986, after three days of deliberation, the jury convicted him of assault.⁸

Bowman and Norman were tried separately and convicted on May 6, 1987. Their trial produced its own friction: Norman blamed Bowman, Bowman’s lawyer called the case a “racially motivated frame-up,” and a defense attorney accused Hanson of racial bias for identifying the two Black defendants. Confessions both men had given to police were thrown out before trial on claims of coercion.⁹²

All three men received sentences of up to 15 years. A 2002 report said two were released after roughly 10 years; the third died in prison.⁹

The Sentencing That Drew National Attention

On May 12, 1987, Justice Atlas sentenced Roth to five to 15 years in prison and fined him $5,000.¹⁰ What made the hearing notorious was not the term but the judge’s treatment of the victim.

Hanson had spoken publicly about her cross-examination, during which the defense pressed her on her sex life, clothing, and personal relationships. From the bench, Atlas erupted at her and her attorney, Michael Shannon, telling them, “Don’t make a mockery of this courtroom” and “Don’t make public criticism of this courtroom.” He told Shannon, “I am incensed, sir, about the way you and your client have treated this court.” Hanson was left in tears.¹¹

Two days later, after a private meeting of about 90 minutes in his chambers, Atlas apologized publicly. “I would like publicly, simply and unequivocally to apologize to Miss Hanson and her lawyer, Michael Shannon, for any pain they were caused by my remarks on Monday,” he said. Hanson accepted it, telling reporters, “He’s human, too. I think he’s a good judge. I think there’s been enough pain and enough suffering.”¹¹

The Civil Suit and the Petrie Trust

Hanson sued Roth, Bowman, and Norman in civil court. A jury awarded her more than $78 million, a figure that was largely symbolic because all three were imprisoned and without assets.¹²

Her actual financial lifeline came from a stranger. Milton Petrie, the 83-year-old owner of Petrie Stores, read about the attack and set up a trust for her, sending an initial $20,000 and pledging the same amount every year for the rest of her life.¹³ When Petrie died in 1994, his will continued the annual payments.¹⁴ The money covered medical costs and later funded her film studies at New York University.²

Life After the Attack

Hanson’s modeling career continued in reduced form, with work she described as accepting her “less than perfect face.” She later said the media coverage was in some ways more traumatic than the assault.¹⁵

In September 1987, she became a national spokesperson for Dermablend Corrective Cosmetics, demonstrating products that covered her scars and working with burn survivors and others living with disfigurement.¹⁵ She also joined the victims’ rights movement, speaking on campuses, working with the Victims Service Agency in Washington, D.C., lobbying for a “victim’s bill of rights” aimed at curbing abusive cross-examination, and serving as a spokesperson for the National Center for Victims of Crime.¹⁶ At Roth’s sentencing she told reporters, “I hope this trial can be an example that it’s worth standing up for your rights.”¹⁰

In a 2002 interview, Hanson said she developed delayed-onset post-traumatic stress disorder nearly a decade after the attack, with severe depression and suicidal thoughts. She said she first recognized her condition after a conversation with a Vietnam veteran on a Greyhound bus and recovered through psychiatric care and medication. By 2002 she was married with a four-year-old daughter.²

1
The New York Times. Rejection Called Motive in Attack on City Model
2
CNN. Larry King Live Transcript
3
The New York Times. Model Gives Grim Account of Night She Was Slashed
4
UPI. Makeup Artist Stephen Roth Was Convicted of Assault Saturday Night
5
Los Angeles Times. Makeup Artist Found Guilty in Slashing of Model
6
The New York Times. Lawyer Raises Issue of Jealousy in Slashing Case
7
Orlando Sentinel. Roth Says He Lied to Protect His Gay Lover
8
The New York Times. Makeup Artist Found Guilty in Slashing of Model
9
The New York Times. Following Up
10
UPI. Judge Sentences Landlord in Slashing, Scolds Victim
11
Orlando Sentinel. Judge Hands Down an Apology to Hanson
12
Sun-Sentinel. Model Awarded $78 Million
13
Los Angeles Times. Milton Petrie Establishes Trust Fund for Hanson
14
Roanoke Times. Milton Petrie Will
15
Los Angeles Times. Marla Hanson Post-Case Activities
16
Deseret News. Following the Nightmare: 2 Years After Her Brush With Death, Marla Hanson Speaks Out for Life