A Bronx man will spend nearly two decades behind bars after pleading guilty and being sentenced in the 2020 vicious beating of his ex-girlfriend with a nail-riddled wooden plank that left her partially blind and disfigured, prosecutors said.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced Thursday that James Fitzgerald, 55, was sentenced to 19 years in prison after pleading guilty to attempted murder for the May 16, 2020 beating.
According to prosecutors, who cited court records, just before 6 p.m. on that 2020 day, Fitzgerald attacked his estranged 35-year-old girlfriend on the sidewalk in front of a fish market in Jamaica, Queens, where he knocked her to the ground, and repeatedly kicked and punched her multiple times in the head.
Prosecutors say that Fitzgerald ignored nearby eyewitnesses yelling for him to stop. Although he briefly walked away from the victim, he returned shortly after with a nail-riddled wooden plank he used to hit his estranged girlfriend in the face.
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According to Katz, police arrived on the scene just as Fitzgerald was walking away. He was eventually arrested following a short foot pursuit.
Subsequently, Katz said police recovered the bloody wooden plank with the nails from the scene of the attack, as well as the victim’s broken teeth that were scattered on the sidewalk.
The victim was immediately taken to a nearby hospital. As a result of the violent, horrific attack, she suffered permanent loss of vision in her right eye, underwent numerous reconstruction surgeries on her face since she has been permanently disfigured due to a crushed orbital bone and several severe facial fractures.
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Fitzgerald pleaded guilty on June 2 to attempted murder in the second degree. Aside from his prison sentence, he is also have to serve five years post release supervision, according to Katz' office.
Additionally, a full order of protection was issued on behalf of his victim.
“This defendant brutally attacked his former girlfriend nearly to death," Katz said. "It is a miracle that the victim survived, though she still faces years of physical and mental recovery due to severe sustained injuries. Following the defendant’s guilty plea last month, he has now been sentenced to prison for his heinous actions. I can only hope that the victim finds some solace in knowing that the defendant has been held accountable.”
