BROOKLYN, NY – Liyong Ye, a 47-year-old man from Sunset Park, has been arraigned for second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder, along with other charges, following an alleged attack that left a mother dead and her two young children critically injured.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced the indictment today, stating that the defendant is also charged with first-degree assault and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon. Ye was arraigned before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun and ordered held without bail. He is scheduled to return to court on November 8, 2023, and faces up to 25 years to life in prison if convicted of the top count.
According to the investigation, the alleged attack occurred on August 23, 2023, at around 1:30 p.m. inside an apartment at 531 52nd Street, where both families and two roommates lived. The defendant is accused of attacking 43-year-old Zhao Zhao and her children, ages 5 and 3, after a dispute over living conditions.
Zhao Zhao was taken to Lutheran Hospital, where she was pronounced dead due to massive blunt force trauma. Her children were treated at the Pediatric Trauma Unit at Bellevue Hospital and were later transferred to a long-term rehabilitation facility for ongoing recovery.