Two men have admitted to slashing the throat of a teenage exchange student, in a terrifying case of mistaken identity that left her permanently scarred.
Wilson Lai, of Queens, and Devon Berkley, of Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to charges of first-degree assault Monday for the brutal attack on the 16-year-old, unnamed girl as she walked to school in December 2015.
Authorities said Berkley, 39, starting planning to attack another teen in Whitestone for unclear reasons, but misidentified the victim — as she lived in the same house with his intended target.
The fiend, who now faces up to 18 years behind bars, woe a surgical mask as he sliced her twice across the face and ran off in a horrifying attack that was caught on security footage.
Lai will be sentenced to 19-years in prison when the duo return to court on Feb. 14.
“In pleading guilty, the defendants have admitted to a heinous attack on a teenage girl,” Queens DA Richard Brown said in a statement. “The victim in this case was not the target, but nonetheless she will forever be marred by the memory of what happened to her and the scars on her face.”



