By Alexander Dworkowitz
A College Point man was sentenced Monday to 25 years to life for stabbing to death an 84-year-old woman whom he mistakenly blamed for causing his family to be evicted from their home on 115th Street in 1999, the Queens district attorney said.
Christopher Rodriguez, 27, of 22-10 121st St. was sentenced by State Supreme Court Judge Arthur Cooperman in Kew Gardens.
Rodriguez faced a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole for the killing of Winifred Rodriguez, who is not related to the 27-year-old, but Cooperman decided to give the man a chance at seeing the light of day again.
“The prison sentence justly punishes the defendant for his heinous crime, taking the life of a helpless and defenseless elderly woman,” said Queens DA Richard Brown.
A jury convicted Rodriguez of murder, burglary criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of stolen property in February, the district attorney said.
The two Rodriguez's had once lived in the same building on 115th Street in College Point, the district attorney said. Christopher Rodriguez’s family was thrown out of the building, and he erroneously came to believe that the eviction resulted from Winifred Rodriguez’s complaints about the family, Brown said.
“The defendant thought that she had had his family evicted from the building and made the decision to kill her,” Brown said.
Sometime between June 26 and June 29, 1999, the Rodriguez climbed through Winifred Rodriguez’s window armed with a knife, the district attorney said. He stabbed the 84-year-old woman 13 times in her living room, once in her stomach, once in her back and many times in her left side, the district attorney said.
Christopher Rodriguez then dragged the elderly woman into her foyer, leaving a trail of blood, the district attorney said.
Jose Perez of Flushing acted as a lookout for Christopher Rodriguez, the district attorney said.
Perez pleaded guilty to assisting with the crime in January and was awaiting sentencing, the district attorney said.
Reach reporter Alexander Dworkowitz by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 141.
