A Brooklyn man was sentenced to decades behind bars attacking 61-year-old woman with a rock as she swept a sidewalk in Queens the day after Thanksgiving 2021 -- an assault that claimed her life three months after the violent attack.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced Wednesday that Elisaul Perez was sentenced to 20 years in prison and five years of post-release for attacking GuiYing Ma.
Perez, 33, pleaded guilty last month to manslaughter in the first degree.
According to the charges, at around 8 a.m. on Nov. 26, 2021, Ma was sweeping the sidewalk and street in the area of 38th Avenue near 97th Street. It was then that that Perez picked up a large rock and struck Ma in the head -- and struck her yet again a second time in the head, after she fell to the ground. The grisly attack was captured on security video.
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Ma was subsequently taken to a local hospital where she underwent emergency surgery for severe head trauma and brain injuries. However, after a lengthy three-month hospitalization, Ma died from her injuries.
“While today’s sentence cannot make up for the heartbreaking and senseless loss of their loved one, I hope that it provides some measure of solace to the family of Ms. Ma. The long sentence will hold the defendant to account for an unprovoked attack that robbed a community of a beloved member," Katz said in a statement.
