The man accused of killing a 62-year-old Queens woman in a vicious rock attack that landed her in a coma for several months has been indicted by a grand jury on murder and manslaughter charges.
GuiYing Ma was sweeping a sidewalk the day after Thanksgiving when a man bashed in her skull with a rock. She was in a coma for 88 days and awoke in early February, but ultimately succumbed to her injuries the evening of Feb. 22.
The rock-wielder was allegedly a 33-year-old homeless man known to sleep on sidewalks in the area. It's not clear why he allegedly hit her on that day with the rock.
It came without warning. Detectives say he allegedly smashed Ma in the back of the head with the rock and just walked off. The attack in Corona caved in her skull and caused serious brain damage.
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"I thought she would recover. I didn’t expect that she would be gone. And she’s gone now," Ma's husband, Zhanxin Gao, said after her death.
Elisaul Perez, the alleged killer seen on video striking Ma, has been indicted by a Queens County grand jury on two additional charges of murder and manslaughter, the Queens DA said Monday. He was initially charged with assault.
If convicted, the Brooklyn man faces 25 years-to-life in prison. His attorney could not immediately be reached by phone.
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“The entire community has been in mourning over the brutal attack that
took the life of GuiYing Ma, who immigrated to this country in hopes of being able to provide for her family," District Attorney Melinda Katz said.
Police officials have said they didn't have enough evidence to file hate crime charges. The NYPD said Perez has at least 11 prior arrests and described him as a "menace" to the neighborhood where Ma lived.
