NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A man who was convicted of robbing and brutally attacking a woman with a hammer as she entered a Queens subway station in 2022 was handed the maximum sentence Thursday of 25 years to life in prison.
William Blount, 60, showed no remorse and looked straight ahead in court as the victim, Nina Rothschild, gave a victim impact statement.
"Why on Earth did you come up from behind me, fracture my skull with a hammer and then grab my bag? Why me? What did I ever do to you?" she said.
Rothschild—a scientist for the City of New York who was 57 years old at the time of the attack—described having multiple surgeries for a fractured skull.
She ultimately asked the judge to impose the maximum sentence for Blount, noting how brutal the attack was and how severe her injuries were—a fractured skull that had to be reworked with titanium mesh.
"Please ensure that he never sees the light of day outside the walls of a prison," she said.
The judge did just that—handing Blount a sentence of 25 years to life—saying it's a miracle Rothschild survived.
Blount insists he is innocent, and his lawyers indicated he will appeal the sentence.
Despite the horrific event, Rothschild said she's fully healed, taking the subway again and moving on with her life.
The attack happened on the night of Feb. 24, 2022, as Rothschild was walking down the stairs to the Queens Plaza subway station in Long Island City. Prosecutors said Blount is the man seen in murky surveillance video repeatedly hitting her in the head with a hammer.
WARNING: This video contains graphic and disturbing video.
Blount, who was walking with a cane, then kicked the victim down the stairs, struck her on the head 13 times with a hammer and grabbed her handbag before fleeing the scene, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said.
Rothschild was rushed to an area hospital where she was treated for multiple skull fractures and underwent a bilateral craniectomy to repair her skull with titanium mesh. She also sustained a broken finger and other injuries.
The assault was caught on surveillance video, which showed the attacker carrying the victim’s bag as he walked from the subway station to a relative’s house on 12th Street.
Blount was arrested on Feb. 27, 2022, and the following day, a search warrant was executed on the house on 12th Street where police recovered a hammer, a black cane and the victim's tote bag from the location, prosecutors said.