Man who fatally bludgeoned Chinese immigrant in New York sentenced to 20 years’ jail

NEW YORK - A man who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the fatal bludgeoning of a Chinese immigrant as she swept a Queens pavement was sentenced on Tuesday to 20 years in prison.

Elisaul Perez, 33, appeared in Queens County Criminal Court in a tan long-sleeve sweatshirt and green pants, with a lone supporter greeting him with a wave as he entered.

Perez sat looking down during the hearing, speaking though an interpreter only to say that he did not have any comments.

The victim, Madam GuiYing Ma, 61, was on a pavement in the North Corona neighbourhood on the morning of Nov 26, 2021, when Perez confronted her, argued with her and then hit her twice on the head with a large rock.

Madam Ma, a grandmother who had moved to New York with her husband in 2017 to seek better-paying jobs to support their son and his family in north-eastern China, spent about three months in Elmhurst Hospital before dying.

On Tuesday, the courtroom was filled with more than two dozen people – friends, supporters, attorneys and reporters. The victim’s husband, Mr Zhanxin Gao, was not there: He had returned to China.

Instead, Ms Jennifer Wu, a pro bono attorney who had worked with his family, read a statement from him.

Mr Gao told the court that he was grateful for the community of friends and lawmakers that helped him after his wife’s attack, but that his family was “still overwhelmed in grief”.

“It was all too sudden that our life in New York City came to an end,” he wrote. “I still can’t accept the sudden death of my wife. I’ve seen violent attacks on old people in the news, but I was overwhelmed when it really happened to me.”

Mr Gao has been struggling with guilt that he was not able to reunite his wife with their son and her mother, said a friend and the couple’s former landlord, Mr Yihung Hsieh, in a statement during the hearing.

“The tragedy that happened to Ma hit him very hard,” Mr Hsieh said.

Mr Michael Yavinsky, the Queens Supreme Court judge overseeing the case, called it “a tragedy for everyone involved” before announcing Perez’s sentence, which includes five years of post-prison supervision.

The attack came amid a

wave of attacks on people of Asian descent in New York City:

Ms Michelle Alyssa Go was pushed to her death by a mentally ill man at the Times Square subway station in January 2022. The following month, Ms Christina Yuna Lee was fatally stabbed more than 40 times by a man who followed her from the street into her apartment.

“This case struck a chord because it was so relatable,” said Ms Wu, the lawyer, before the sentencing. “It was a woman who got up in the morning the day after Thanksgiving to sweep a porch, to clean up for the community, and she was brutally attacked.”

Perez was captured on surveillance video picking up a large rock and striking Madam Ma on the head once, according to prosecutors. Once she fell to the ground, he struck her again, they said.

He was arrested near the scene and told a police officer what he had done, according to court documents.

Perez, of Brooklyn, was initially charged with assault and criminal possession of a weapon. After Madam Ma’s death, his charges were upgraded to second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter last month.

The Queens district attorney’s office said in December that the judge had indicated he would sentence Perez to 20 years in prison.

“Twenty years will serve justice and also send a message,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said after the sentencing.

In his statement, Mr Gao asked the judge to sentence Perez to the maximum penalty.

“I still can’t forget my wife, and I miss her more in every holiday season,” he wrote. “When we hold family reunions, our children usually cry before they have meals, because they also miss their mother or grandmother.” NYTIMES