A deranged maniac who viciously beat a 60-year-old straphanger with a hammer 13 times in the head at a Queens subway station got the max sentence Thursday — as his battered victim slammed him in an emotional courtroom statement.
“Please ensure that he never sees the light of day outside the walls of a prison,” Nina Rothschild asked the judge during William Blount’s sentencing. “I don’t believe that he can be rehabilitated.
“His attack was brutal,” Rothschild said. “I encourage you to give him the maximum sentence with no opportunity for parole so that he never assaults anyone again.”
William Blount in court on July 10, 2025, as he was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for the 2022 attack on Nina Rothschild. Brigitte Stelzer
Nina Rothschild, seen here on July 10, 2025, was attacked by Blount on February 24, 2022. Brigitte StelzerJudge John Zoll complied, sentencing Blount to the maximum prison sentence of 25 years to life for the senseless Feb. 24, 2022, attack.
“You’re three times her size and you kicked her back,” Zoll berated Blount, 60. “She didn’t fall right away so you kicked her again until she fell. You hit her in the head 13 times with a hammer.”
Rothschild was walking down the stairs at the Queens Plaza E,M and R station when Blount came up behind her, slammed her in the head with a hammer and threw her to the ground.
He kicked her repeatedly and took her bag, leaving her screaming and bloodied on the ground of the station.
The stairs of the Queens Plaza E,M, and R station when Nina Rothschild was attacked by William Blount.
Judge John Zoll berated Blount for his attack, saying, “You’re three times her size and you kicked her back,” while commending Rothschild for her strength. DCPIBlount was arrested and convicted of robbery and assault charges by a Queens jury in April, but acquitted of attempted murder.
In court Thursday, Zoll praised Rothschild’s resolve.
“I’ve never seen someone as forthright, honest, with such a sense of decency, and the fact you stayed after this attack – a miracle,” Zoll said of victim Nina Rothschild. “I can’t believe her strength.”
The judge said he had never sentenced a defendant to the maximum prison sentence — until now.
Hammer attack victim Nina Rothschild gives a victim impact statement during the sentencing for William Blount. NY Post/Kevin SheehanBlount’s lawyer, Garnett Sullivan, bizarrely argued on behalf of his client during the proceedings, claiming that the brute thought his victim was “a nice lady.” He was also aspiring to be a fashion designer.
“All the bowties he has worn were made by my client with a paperclip,” Sullivan said. “He’s become a fashion designer. He will have a show on Aug. 14, 2025.”
But Rothschild wasn’t buying it, and berated her attacker.
“Why on earth would you have come up behind me, fractured my skull multiple times with a hammer and then grab bag?” she told Blount. “Why me? What did I ever do to you?
“I am not a lawyer, but I am quite certain you would have faced a lesser punishment if you had simply robbed me,” she said.
