Nina Rothschild, 60, stood in Queens court on Thursday and stared down the man convicted of beating her in the head some 13 times with a hammer and asked one question: “Why me?”
William Blount, also 60, was found guilty of following Rothschild down the steps of the Queens Plaza subway station on Feb. 24, 2022, before kicking her and then brutally bashing her skull with a hammer some 13 times before making off with her bag. The assaults were caught on surveillance video.
Police found her covered in blood. She underwent emergency surgery for multiple skull fractures, which required the removal of portions of her skull; it was replaced with titanium mesh.
Blount, who appeared before Judge John Zoll for sentencing, sat in handcuffs over a white shirt and brown tie. He sat expressionless and did not offer any signs of remorse for the attack that has left Rothschild refusing to take the subway when leaving work.
“He didn’t look at me, he didn’t engage with me. He made no attempt at eye contact or anything,” Rothschild said.
During the proceedings, ADA Lauren Reilly described Blount as a persistent, violent felon who has served time behind bars in the 1980s and 1990s for other robberies, including outside of New York. Prosecutors referred to these past offences as another reason why he should not be released.
Blount’s defense attorney Garnett Sullivan argued that his client has undergone severe rehabilitation and had aspirations of becoming a fashion designer, even wearing homemade bowties to court during his trial. Judge Zoll did not seem moved by this argument, adding that it is a miracle that Rothschild did not lose her life during the attack.
“That a human being could act like this toward another human being with such brutality and such depravity, that’s what I saw on the tape, and it only got worse,” Judge Zoll told the courtroom. ”I thought at first you were hitting her with your cane to maybe get her to free her bag, but it turns out you were hitting her over the head with a hammer. This woman, who was a fraction of your size, and all you have, you clearly had the ability to take her bag.”
Judge Zoll declared that he had never, during his career, given a defendant the maximum sentence, but felt as though it was appropriate in this case. Blount was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz celebrated the sentencing, stating that New Yorkers will be able to rest easier.
“The first thing it does is hold William Blount accountable for the brutal attack. The second thing it does is make sure that people know that there is a deterrent, that if you attack people in the subway, if you ruin our way of life, if you attack the safety that New Yorkers every New Yorker should feel while traveling on public transportation in the city of New York, you will be held accountable. You will be prosecuted,” Katz railed.
Meanwhile, Rothschild said she will be able to rest easier knowing that most likely Blount will never be a free man again.
“Mr. Blount will be in prison until what will probably be the end of his life,” Rothschild said. “Twenty-five years from now is a very long time away.”
