Family issues tearful response following death of grandmother GuiYing Ma, injured in November rock attack
NEW YORK -- The family of GuiYing Ma spoke out Tuesday for the first time since her death was announced Monday.
The 62-year-old grandmother died from her injuries at a hospital one week ago after police say a homeless man threw a rock at her in Queens, CBS2's Lisa Rozner reported.
Almost every single speaker was tearful as they spoke about the victim and recent incidents that have resulted in Asian-Americans losing their lives in the city. Ma leaves behind her husband and her son, who is in China. There's an effort to bring him here for her funeral. They shared their pain in hopes that others may be spared.
Her husband, Zhanxin Gao, broke down moments after he bravely spoke through a translator about the loss of his wife of four decades.
"She's a very, very good person and she's also a very outgoing individual. She's someone who is always willing to help others," Gao said.
On the morning after Thanksgiving, Ma was sweeping her landlord's property on 38th Avenue in North Corona. That's when police say 33-year-old Elisaul Perez started a verbal dispute and threw a rock at her.
"The man struck her with rock so viciously, that even after she fell over he picked the rock back up and threw it at her," family attorney Jennifer Wu said.
Ma's landlord, Yihung Hsieh, now a family friend, tearfully recalled a month before the incident, the couple being the poorest people at his late mother's farewell ceremony, yet they gave so much.
"They are the people who pack the highest amount, $300, to a ceremony," Hsieh said.
He said in 2017, Ma and her husband retired from their jobs at a Chinese steel factory and came to the United States to send money home to their family.
The family's attorney said the attack permanently damaged the right side of Ma's brain. Ten weeks after the attack, in early February, she woke up from her coma and was able to raise her hand in response to her husband, but, ultimately, she died from her injuries.
Her husband said he wishes he could have told her: "My dear, my beloved, please stay on. I want you to be able to stay on. I want you to be able to go back to China with me. I want you to stay strong and be with me."
Residents had told CBS2 that police had been called before about Perez, who sleeps in the street. Records show he has 14 prior arrests dating to 2009, and one of his previous victims was Asian American, too.
A spokesperson for the Queens district attorney told CBS2, "We are reviewing the latest development in this tragedy and will add or upgrade any appropriate charges supported by the evidence."
Asian-American community leaders said that Mayor Eric Adams told them in a meeting Monday that the NYPD has been "too slow" in designating and investigating hate crimes.
The law firm representing Ma's family says hate crime laws should be expanded to take into account more than just a racial slur being spoken.
"Whether or not they have all been officially categorized as hate crimes or not, the fact is that our community is living in fear," Congresswoman Grace Meng said.
Perez is being held in jail and is due in court in April.
Rozner did text and email attorneys for Perez seeking comment, but they did not get back to her.