Cops took Melanie Liverpool-Turner, 30, of St. Albans, Queens, into custody moments after the gruesome tragedy on the 1 train platform.
She was charged Monday night with second-degree murder for pushing Connie Watton of Queens in front of the train as it barreled into the 42nd St. station at 1:20 p.m, authorities said.
Witnesses told cops that Watton and another woman were arguing on the platform seconds ahead of the dreadful episode. Hours passed before Watton’s body was removed from the tracks.
Police were trying to determine whether Liverpool-Turner had anything to do with the track death of a 27-year-old woman at the Union Square station on Oct. 19. That tragedy was ruled a suicide.
Liverpool-Turner told police at the time that she pushed the young German woman to her death.
“I hear voices. I push people in front of trains,” she told cops, according to police sources.
But witnesses told police Liverpool-Turner entered the station as the woman jumped — making it unlikely she pushed her.
Cops took Liverpool-Turner for a psychiatric evaluation at Beth Israel after the bizarre incident — and are now wondering if that planted the seed for Monday’s horrific act, sources said.
Manhattan Chief of Detectives William Aubrey said investigators were looking for surveillance video of the attack and of Watton and Liverpool-Turner entering the station.
“It’s a horrible incident, and your heart goes out to this family and this victim,” Aubrey said.
Straphanger Feitei Yu said it was terrifying to witness.
“I was scared,” she said. “I just saw a woman push another … just pushed down to the track.”
Police sources said it does not appear Liverpool-Turner and Watton knew each other.
Robert Simmons lives on the same block as Liverpool-Turner in St. Albans and was shocked to hear what happened.
“I saw her this morning. I saw her at the bus stop, she was smiling,” Simmons, 42, said. “Melanie was a nice person, we had no problems with her. That’s why I was kind of shocked.”
“Right now, it’s just a tragedy for both parties,” he added.
The train operator, a 20-year veteran, was taken to Mount Sinai West afterward to receive treatment for emotional trauma, according to Transport Workers Union Local 100.
Bronx-bound 1, 2 and 3 trains experienced delays throughout the afternoon.
More than 200,000 people pass through the Times Square subway station daily, making it the busiest in the city, according to the MTA. The station has 10 subway lines and the Grand Central Station shuttle.
It was the first fatal subway push since 2014, when Kevin Darden, 36, shoved Wai Kuen Kwok, 61, into the path of a D train at the 167th St. station in the Bronx. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter and is awaiting sentencing.
In December 2012, Ki-Suck Han, 58, of Elmhurst, Queens, was struck and killed after he was pushed in front of a Q train at the 49th St. station in Midtown.
Naeem Davis, a 30-year-old Times Square drifter, was charged with killing Han. His case is pending.
Less than a month later, Sunando Sen, 46, was pushed to his death in an unprovoked attack at the elevated 40th St.-Lowery St. station along the 7 line in Queens. In May 2015, Erika Menendez, 33, was sentenced to 24 years in prison for killing Sen.
