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Reeaz Khan was arrested a week after the attack.
By Forum Staff
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Reeaz Khan pleaded guilty on Tuesday to murder and other charges in the attack of a 92-year-old woman walking near her Richmond Hill home in January 2020.
Khan threw the elderly victim to the ground and sexually assaulted her before fleeing the scene on foot.
Khan, 24, of Richmond Hill, pleaded guilty to murder in the second degree and attempted rape in the first degree. Justice Kenneth Holder indicated that he would sentence Khan on July 6 to 22 years to life on the murder charge and eight years in prison on the attempted rape charge.
According to the charges:
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DA Katz said that Khan “rightly will be sentenced to a long prison term.”
Khan was seen on video surveillance footage approaching Maria Fuertes, 92, from behind as she walked on 127th Avenue on Jan. 6, 2020, at approximately 12:01 a.m. Video shows them both dropping to the ground.
Approximately five minutes later, Khan is seen on the video footage with his pants undone and running off.
At approximately 2:14 a.m., Fuertes was found by a passerby who called 911. The victim, whose dress was lifted to her chest, was barely conscious and incoherent when she was taken to a local hospital, where she later died. Doctors found that Fuertes had sustained two fractures to her spine, two rib fractures, bruising to her neck and chest and other injuries.
An autopsy determined Fuertes died from blunt force trauma and hypothermia.
“This defendant savagely attacked a defenseless, elderly woman and left her to die on the freezing pavement,” Katz said. “He rightly will be sentenced to a long prison term.”
