What a Creep Season 23, Episode 2: The 1986 Attack on Model Marla Hanson

On Thursday, June 5, 1986, in New York City, 24-year-old Marla Hanson was lashed across her face with razors at the behest of her landlord (Steven Roth), who was fascinated with the rising model and upset she wanted to leave his apartment building. The case made her famous across the country for her moxie and vitality. It was also yet another reminder of how violent New York was in the 1980s.

The eventual trials against Roth and later the two men he hired for the mission, Steven Bowman and Darren Norman, tried to paint Marla as a man-eater who thrived on attention. Their defense attorney, Alton H. Maddox, said at the beginning of the trial: “I will tell you about a woman named Marla Hanson, who was after every man in this city, a woman who preyed on men and their relationships with women.”

They were all found guilty, but Marla still lives with the emotional scars of being a victim, not just of the slashing but of the sometimes brutal justice system, which made her feel as if she were the one who should have been on trial. Today, we discuss this case, its repercussions on Marla, and how she fights to protect victims.

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