By Forum Staff
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced on Thursday that a Manhattan man was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for a savage, unprovoked attack on a commuter as she entered the Queens Plaza subway station in Long Island City in 2022.
William Blount, 61, was convicted after a jury trial in April of two counts of assault in the first degree, two counts of robbery in the first degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree. Blount was acquitted of attempted murder charges.
The Hon. John Zoll, who presided at trial, sentenced Blount on Thursday to 25 years to life in prison.
According to the charges and trial testimony, at approximately 11:20 p.m. on Feb. 24, 2022, 57-year-old Nina Rothschild was walking down the stairs to the Queens Plaza subway station as Blount, who was walking with a black cane, approached her from behind. Blount kicked Rothschild down the stairs, struck her on the head 13 times with a hammer and grabbed the victim’s multi-colored tote bag before fleeing the scene.
Photo Courtesy of DA Katz
DA Katz said the conviction and sentence send “a strong message that those who cause mayhem on our subways will be brought to justice.”
The victim was transported to a hospital where she was treated for multiple skull fractures and underwent emergency surgery to remove the damaged portions of her skull and replace them with titanium mesh. She also sustained a broken finger and other injuries.
Investigators tracked the perpetrator’s movements using video surveillance, which showed Blount carrying Rothschild’s bag as he walked from the subway station toward a relative’s house on 12th Street in Long Island City.
Blount was arrested on Feb. 27, 2022. The following day, a search warrant was executed on the house on 12th Street and police recovered a hammer, a black cane and the victim’s tote bag from the location. Further testing revealed a mixture of Blount’s and the victim’s DNA on the hammer, and a mixture of contributors of DNA including the defendant’s, on the black cane.
“Our transit system must be safe for everyone and this conviction sends a strong message that those who cause mayhem on our subways will be brought to justice,” Katz said after Blount was sentenced.
