Queens

Tearful Husband of NYC Grandma Killed by Rock Attack Pleads for Justice, and His Son

GuiYing Ma was sweeping a sidewalk when a man bashed in her skull with a rock on Nov. 26. She was in an 88-day coma and briefly awoke, then died last week

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The husband of the 62-year-old Queens woman who died last week, three months after a vicious rock attack landed her in a coma, shed tears Tuesday as he shared the heartbreaking words he wished he could have told his "beloved" before she passed.

Zhanxin Gao just wanted his wife of the last 40-plus years, GuiYing Ma, to "please stay on" so he could take her to China one more time to see their son. They have no other family in New York, which they came to four years ago as retired steel plant workers.

Now Gao is alone. His wife, also a grandmother, was randomly attacked with a rock the day after Thanksgiving as she cleaned up outside the home they lived in with their employer. 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. She was in a coma for 88 days and awoke in early February, but ultimately succumbed to her injuries the evening of Feb. 22.

"I thought she would recover. I didn’t expect that she would be gone. And she’s gone now," an emotional Gao said.

Gone too is his sense of safety and security in a city that once welcomed him and his wife. He says he's afraid to go outside.

Former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch, who is part of the top-tier legal team with firm Paul, Weiss representing Gao pro bono, says that reality isn't an unacceptable one.

"We can not let that be the reality for our elders. For our family members. For any of us," Lynch said, vowing to stand with the Asian American community through this dark time.

Democratic Rep. Grace Meng, who represents New York's sixth congressional district and has also been trying to support the family, says she's working to help get a visa for the couple's son. They likely won't bury her until he can be there because Gao says he wants his son "to at least see his mother one last time."

Meng was also overcome with emotion -- and frustration -- Tuesday as she said, "We know that our community is mentally and physically exhausted from being forced to endure this ongoing violence."

She’s among lawmakers now demanding change. They want more investment in treating the homeless and mentally ill. And they want hate crimes laws strengthened.

They also want the hate crimes statute strengthened.

At this point, police say they don't have enough evidence to file hate crime charges. The NYPD has confirmed Ma's death will be reclassified as a homicide. The suspect has not been hit with any additional charges yet. He has at least 11 prior arrests, officials have said. They've described him as a "menace" to the neighborhood where Ma lived.

For Gao, all he wants is for Perez to get the maximum punishment possible. He said she was the love of his life, and he now feels lost without her.

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