[danso]

Here's a 1977 NYT story [0] during a time in which there were many more murders and the stranger-rate nationwide was estimated at 20%:

- 1,622 homicides

- 1,246 where (known vs. stranger) relationships were established

- 354 of that 1,246 attributed to strangers

Today's clearance rate is lower [1], but it's not really apples-to-apples comparison for a lot of reasons relating to recordkeeping conventions. But clearance rate for white homicide victims in NYC is still around ~85%. The past few years, the % of overall victims that were killed by strangers is around 5% [2].

So yes, there is still some uncertainty in the exact ratio of stranger/friend/unknown suspects. But still not rational to automatically assume that Lee was the victim of random crime.

[0] https://www.nytimes.com/1977/04/20/archives/murders-by-stran...

[1] https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/crime-without-punishmen...

[2] https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/ny-stranger-o...