Press Release

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced today that Elisaul Perez, 33, has been indicted by a Queens County grand jury on murder and manslaughter charges, in addition to earlier filed charges of assault and criminal possession of a weapon in the November 2021 Thanksgiving weekend attack of 61-year-old Guiying Ma. Mrs. Ma was struck in the head with a chunk of concrete while sweeping the sidewalk and street.

District Attorney Katz said, “The charges against the defendant have been elevated to murder. 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. After sustaining traumatic brain injuries and attempts at life-saving surgical intervention, sadly Mrs. Ma died from complications from those inflicted injuries. We are committed to remaining vigilant at every stage of a case to help ensure justice for victims and family members.”

Perez, of Blake Avenue, in Brooklyn, was initially indicted on charges of assault in the first degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree. After Mrs. Ma’s death a Queens grand jury returned two additional charges of murder in the second degree and manslaughter in the first degree. If convicted, Perez faces 25 years-to-life in prison.

District Attorney Katz said that, according to the charges, on November 26, 2021, the victim was observed sweeping the sidewalk and street area at approximately 8 a.m. in front of 38^th Avenue near 97^th Street. Moments later, as captured on video surveillance, the defendant allegedly picked up a chunk of concrete and struck Mrs. Ma in the head and after she fell to the ground, struck her a second time.

The victim was taken to a local hospital where she underwent emergency surgery for severe head trauma and brain injuries. Mrs. Ma never recovered and, after a three-month hospitalization, died from complications from her injuries.

Senior Assistant District Attorney Jacqueline Rizk of the District Attorney’s Special Victims Bureau is prosecuting the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Eric Rosenbaum, Bureau Chief, and Debra Lynn Pomodore and Brian Hughes, Deputy Bureau Chiefs, and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Major Crimes Daniel Saunders.