Man Sentenced to 25 Years to Life for Fatal Stabbing of 9/11 Emergency Responder
A New York man on Monday was sentenced to serve 25 years to life in prison for the fatal stabbing of a veteran emergency worker while she was on a break, according to prosecutors. Peter Zisopoulos, 37, was convicted in May of second-degree murder for killing Lt. Alison Russo-Elling, then 61, as she walked from her fire department station to a nearby store for food in 2022. She was remembered by mourners as a dedicated public servant who responded to the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.
There's no indication that Zisopoulos knew Russo-Elling. His public defender lawyer has said that Zisopoulos has a past psychiatric history going back to 2018. The lawyer did not immediately respond to a message left with his office on Monday.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz called the killing 'brutal' and 'senseless.' Russo-Elling was months away from retirement when she died. She was promoted posthumously from EMS lieutenant to the rank of captain. 'Today we are appreciative that her killer has been sentenced to the maximum punishment: 25 years to life. This sentencing speaks to the brutality of the crime, and though it won't bring her back, I pray it will finally give her family the closure they deserve,' said Fire Commissioner Robert S. Tucker.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Arabiya
2 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
3 Leaders at UK Hospital Where a Nurse Was Convicted of Murdering Babies Are Arrested
Three senior leaders at the English hospital where nurse Lucy Letby was convicted of murdering babies were arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, police said Tuesday. The people under investigation for gross negligence manslaughter were arrested when a corporate manslaughter probe was expanded following Letby's 2023 convictions for the infant deaths at the Countess of Chester Hospital in northwestern England, said Detective Superintendent Paul Hughes of the Cheshire Constabulary. 'This focuses on senior leadership and their decision-making to determine whether any criminality has taken place concerning the response to the increased levels of fatalities,' Hughes said. Letby, 35, is serving multiple life sentences with no chance of release after being convicted of seven counts of murder and attempting to murder seven other infants between June 2015 and June 2016 while working as a neonatal nurse at the hospital. Letby was convicted in a sensational trial two years ago, but since then support for her has grown as a panel of medical experts disputed the evidence against her and a lawyer said she was wrongly convicted. The three suspects were not named and were released on bail. Hughes said the arrests don't have an impact on Letby's convictions.
Arab News
2 hours ago
- Arab News
3 leaders at UK hospital where a nurse was convicted of murdering babies are arrested
LONDON: Three senior leaders at the English hospital where nurse Lucy Letby was convicted of murdering babies were arrested on suspicion of manslaughter, police said people under investigation for gross negligence manslaughter were arrested when a corporate manslaughter probe was expanded following Letby's 2023 convictions for the infant deaths at the Countess of Chester Hospital in northwestern England, said Detective Superintendent Paul Hughes of the Cheshire Constabulary.'This focuses on senior leadership and their decision-making to determine whether any criminality has taken place concerning the response to the increased levels of fatalities,' Hughes 35, is serving multiple life sentences with no chance of release after being convicted of seven counts of murder and attempting to murder seven other infants between June 2015 and June 2016 while working as a neonatal nurse at the was convicted in a sensational trial two years ago, but since then support for her has grown as a panel of medical experts disputed the evidence against her and a lawyer said she was wrongly three suspects were not named and were released on said the arrests don't have an impact on Letby's convictions.
Al Arabiya
7 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Bryan Kohberger to plead guilty to murder in Idaho student stabbings to avoid death penalty
Bryan Kohberger has agreed to plead guilty to murdering four University of Idaho students as part of a deal to avoid the death penalty, an attorney for one victim's family said. Shanon Gray, an attorney representing the family of Kaylee Goncalves, confirmed Monday that prosecutors informed the families of the deal by email and letter earlier in the day and that his clients were upset about it. 'We are beyond furious at the State of Idaho,' Goncalves' family wrote in a Facebook post. 'They have failed us. Please give us some time. This was very unexpected.' A change of plea hearing was set for Wednesday, but the family has asked prosecutors to delay it to give them more time to travel to Boise, Gray said. Kohberger's trial was set for August in Boise, where it was moved following pretrial publicity in rural northern Idaho. Kohberger, 30, is accused in the stabbing deaths of Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, and Madison Mogen at a rental home near campus in Moscow, Idaho, early on Nov. 13, 2022. Autopsies showed the four were all likely asleep when they were attacked, some had defensive wounds, and each was stabbed multiple times. At the time, Kohberger was a criminal justice graduate student at Washington State University about 9 miles (14.5 kilometers) west of the University of Idaho. He was arrested in Pennsylvania, where his parents lived, weeks later. Investigators said they matched his DNA to genetic material recovered from a knife sheath found at the crime scene. No motive has emerged for the killings, nor is it clear why the attacker spared two roommates who were in the home. Authorities have said cellphone data and surveillance video shows that Kohberger visited the victims' neighborhood at least a dozen times before the killings. The murders shocked the small farming community of about 25,000 people, which hadn't had a homicide in about five years, and prompted a massive hunt for the perpetrator. That included an elaborate effort to track down a white sedan that was seen on surveillance cameras repeatedly driving by the rental home, to identify Kohberger as a possible suspect through the use of genetic genealogy, and to pinpoint his movements the night of the killings through cellphone data. In a court filing, Kohberger's lawyers said he was on a long drive by himself around the time the four were killed. In the letter to families obtained by ABC News, prosecutors said Kohberger's lawyers approached them seeking to reach a plea deal. The defense team had previously made unsuccessful efforts to have the death penalty stricken as a possible punishment, including arguing that Kohberger's autism diagnosis made him less culpable. The prosecutors said they met with available family members last week before deciding to make Kohberger an offer. 'This resolution is our sincere attempt to seek justice for your family,' the letter said. 'This agreement ensures that the defendant will be convicted, will spend the rest of his life in prison, and will not be able to put you and the other families through the uncertainty of decades of post-conviction appeals. Your viewpoints weighed heavily in our decision-making process, and we hope that you may come to appreciate why we believe this resolution is in the best interest of justice.' In a Facebook post, the Goncalves family wrote that Kaylee's 18-year-old sister, Aubrie, had been unable to attend the meeting with prosecutors. But she shared her concerns in a written statement. 'Bryan Kohberger facing a life in prison means he would still get to speak, form relationships, and engage with the world,' Aubrie Goncalves wrote. 'Meanwhile our loved ones have been silenced forever. That reality stings more deeply when it feels like the system is protecting his future more than honoring the victims' pasts.' In Idaho, judges may reject plea agreements, though such moves are rare. If a judge rejects a plea agreement, the defendant is allowed to withdraw the guilty plea. Earlier Monday, a Pennsylvania judge had ordered that three people whose testimony was requested by defense attorneys would have to travel to Idaho to appear at Kohberger's trial. The defense subpoenas were granted regarding a boxing trainer who knew Kohberger as a teenager, a childhood acquaintance of Kohberger's, and a third man whose significance was not explained. A gag order has largely kept attorneys, investigators, and others from speaking publicly about the investigation or trial.
