Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance, Jr. today filed charges against Elliot in New York County Criminal Court. Elliot is charged with two counts of Assault in the Second Degree as a Hate Crime, and one count of Attempted Assault in the First Degree as a Hate Crime, for brutally assaulting a 65-year-old woman of Filipino descent in Midtown on March 29, 2021, while making anti-Asian statements

The story shocked New Yorkers, not only for its brutality but for the fact, several staffers in an apartment witnessed the attack, right outside their lobby, ignored the victim, and closed the lobby doors.

The Brodsky Organization, the building managers, posted a statement on Instagram saying that it “condemns all forms of discrimination, racism, xenophobia, and violence against the Asian-American community.” They also suspended the staffers who were witnesses to the brutal, xenophobic, stomping attack.

The NY Times was quick to point out the suspect’s disturbing background:

Mr. Elliot pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in 2002 after fatally stabbing his mother in front of his 5-year-old sister in the Bronx, said Patrice O’Shaughnessy, a spokeswoman for the Bronx district attorney.

According to news reports, Mr. Elliot, who was then 19, stabbed his mother in the chest three times. He was sentenced to a minimum of 15 years to life in prison and was released on lifetime parole in November 2019, after he had served 16 years and had two previous parole applications denied, according to officials and state corrections records.