Police are searching for a killer after a Brooklyn man was left to die following a brutal robbery outside of a neighborhood deli.
The violent mugging occurred right outside a corner deli on 13th Avenue in Dyker Heights on March 29, according to police. John Sarquiz was standing outside when a man came up from behind and punched him, causing Sarquiz to fall to the ground and hit his head.
The attacker continued to hit Sarquiz before robbing him, then taking off. Sarquiz was rushed to NYU Langone Hospital in Brooklyn, where he was on life support for days.
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"Never even had a moment to defend himself or get away in any way," said Sarquiz's sister, Christina. "Once he hit the ground, he was just beaten, kicked in the head senselessly until he was unconscious."
Christina raced to the hospital to find her brother in a coma. On Monday, his family made the difficult decision to take him off the machine, and let him go.
"When I got there he was unconscious, intubated, bleeding from the brain and I was told by the ER doctor that he would never return to the baseline cognition of the man we knew before that night," Christina said, adding that she's barely slept since the attack on her brother. "We’ve been all shocked and completely devastated at a loss for words and mostly just, tears."
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The 55-year-old victim with a big heart was well-known in the neighborhood, and was a native of Sunset Park. He worked as a computer analyst at Barnes & Noble for years, and in 2014, decided to leave the company to care for his aging mother after his father died.
His entire family is now at a loss.
"He’s a good guy. I’ve known him for maybe 27 years and he would give the shirt off his back to anyone," said brother-in-law David Goldstein.
At the scene where he was attacked, Sarquiz's friends — affectionately known in the neighborhood as "The Misfits" — set up a memorial.
Police have identified the attacker, but have not yet shared his name as they continue hunting for him. Police sources told NBC New York that the suspect has a criminal history and has served time in prison.
"To like brutally obliterate someone so that there’s no point of return is just not something that we can comprehend. That level of violence is just evil," said Christina, as she and the rest of the family plan a funeral on Friday for a man loved by so many.
