QUEENS (PIX11) — A Brooklyn man pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges in the deadly attack on a Queens grandma, officials said Thursday.
Guiying Ma, 61, was outside sweeping the sidewalk on Nov. 26, 2021 when Elisaul Perez attacked her. Perez struck Ma in the head with a large rock, then hit her again after she fell to the ground. She was in a coma for months before her death.
“Her family, friends and neighbors still mourn the loss of Guiying Ma, whose life was senselessly taken last year in this brutal attack,” District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “The defendant will now be held to account for an unprovoked attack that robbed a family of their loved one. The lengthy sentence to be imposed by the court is fully justified.”
Perez is set to be sentenced on Jan. 10. A Queens Supreme Court justice indicated Perez would face 20 years behind bars followed by five years of post-release supervision.
Ma came to New York from Liaoning, China about four years before the attack, according to a GoFundMe. Organizers wrote she was outgoing, friendly and kind.
Mayor Eric Adams previously called Ma’s death a tragedy.
“GuiYing Ma was a New Yorker and she deserved better than this,” he said. “Our city mourns her today. And we recommit to protecting our Asian communities and every community from hatred and violence.”