QUEENS, NY — A Manhattan man was sentenced Thursday to 25 years to life in prison for a violent, unprovoked hammer attack on a woman entering the Queens Plaza subway station in 2022, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced.

William Blount, 61, was convicted in April of two counts of first-degree assault, two counts of first-degree robbery, and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon. He was acquitted of attempted murder charges.

“This was an unprovoked attack that caught the attention of the entire country,” District Attorney Katz said in a statement. “The defendant then repeatedly struck her in the head with a hammer and stole the woman’s tote bag.”

The assault occurred around 11:20 p.m. on February 24, 2022. According to trial testimony, Blount approached 57-year-old Nina Rothschild from behind as she descended the stairs into the Queens Plaza subway station. He kicked her down the stairs, then struck her in the head 13 times with a hammer and stole her tote bag before fleeing the scene.

Rothschild sustained multiple skull fractures, a broken finger, and other injuries. She underwent emergency surgery to replace damaged portions of her skull with titanium mesh.

Video surveillance footage showed Blount walking away from the subway station carrying Rothschild’s bag. He was tracked to a relative’s residence on 12th Street in Long Island City, where he was arrested on February 27.

Police executed a search warrant the following day and recovered a hammer, a black cane, and the stolen tote bag. DNA testing confirmed the presence of both Blount’s and the victim’s DNA on the hammer and cane.

Blount’s last known address was on William Street in Manhattan.

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