GuiYing Ma, the 61-year-old woman who was bashed in the head with a rock in Queens, New York, passed away weeks after waking up from a two-month coma.
Ma was miraculously able to open her eyes and move parts of her body as of Feb. 8, but she later passed away on Feb. 22 due to complications from her traumatic head injury, reported New York Daily News.
“The news was so shocking to her husband and us,’’ her family’s landlord and friend Yihung Hsieh said. “Just one day earlier he was staying with her, and she was waving her hand. Everything looked like it was getting better. Then the next day we got a phone call from the hospital and the doctor said she had no heartbeat anymore.”
Ma was struck in the head with a large rock in Jackson Heights last November by 33-year-old Elisaul Perez. She was rushed to Elmhurst Hospital and endured brain bleeding that required open skull surgery. Her death is now considered a homicide.
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The suspect was previously arrested and charged with first and second-degree assault and criminal possession of a weapon. Perez’s next court hearing is scheduled for April, according to ABC7.
“We are reviewing the latest development in this tragedy and will add or upgrade any appropriate charges supported by the evidence,” a spokesperson for the Queens District Attorney stated, according to New York Daily News. “In the meanwhile, on behalf of the District Attorney, we extend our condolences to the family.”
While the city has seen an alarming rise in reported anti-Asian hate crimes, Perez has not been charged with a hate crime.
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