[UPDATE BELOW] A tiara-wearing art curator was charged with assault after a flight from Istanbul to JFK allegedly got a little feral. Stacy Engman, an "ultra-eccentric curator and fashionista," is named in a bizarre federal summons that accuses her of biting a woman in her row after a dispute over space.
The incident happened last July but only came to light yesterday when the summons was publicly filed. Engman's alleged victim, Christina Tyler, says that Engman was wearing a tiara during the flight and that her diadem was almost touching her when she reclined across the empty seat between them.
After a disagreement over spatial relations, Engman, 38, allegedly lifted up the armrest next to Tyler and slammed it down repeatedly on her leg. According to the criminal complaint, Engman was telling everyone within earshot that she had just spent five days on a yacht. It's unclear from the criminal complaint whether she received the appropriate measure of compassion from her fellow passengers.
As their conflict escalated, Engman allegedly called Tyler "ugly," ordered her to "move her fat ass," and repeatedly declared, "Fuck you." When Tyler tried to ignore Engman by turning her back on her, she says Engman bit her on her lower back. But after she summoned the flight attendant to tell her what happened, Engman allegedly pretended to be asleep and could not be awoken. Look, have you ever been stuck on a yacht for five days? Everyone gets a little bitey after the first few nights.
Tyler, mercifully, got bumped up to first class, and when the flight arrived at JFK, Engman was taken into custody and issued a summons for assault. Her unfortunate row-mate was evaluated by the FDNY at the airport and did not require further medical attention, since Engman's alleged bite did not break the skin.
To be fair, Engman had just spent five days aboard a yacht.
UPDATE: In an interview with W, Engman denies biting Tyler and seems confused about the whole thing.
