Man Pleads Guilty in Murder of 92 Year Old He Sexually Assaulted

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Maria Fuertes, 92, died as a result of blunt force trauma and hypothermia, prosecutors said. -Handout


QUEENS VOICE

June 21, 2023


QUEENS - A Queens man has pled guilty to murder charges in the sexual assault of a 92-year-old woman who was left for dead on a frozen street.



Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Reeaz Khan pleaded guilty to murder and other charges in the heinous attack of a 92-year-old woman walking near her Richmond Hill home on a frigid January night in 2020. The defendant threw her to the ground, sexually assaulted her and sprinted from the scene. 




“This defendant savagely attacked a defenseless, elderly woman and left her to die on the freezing pavement,” Katz said. “He rightly will be sentenced to a long prison term.” 




Khan, 24, of 134th Street, Richmond Hill, Queens, pleaded guilty to murder in the second degree and attempted rape in the first degree. 





Justice Kenneth C. Holder indicated that he would sentence the defendant on July 6 to 22 years to life on the murder charge and eight years in prison on the attempted rape charge. 


According to the charges: 


Khan was seen on video surveillance footage approaching Maria Fuertes, 92, from behind as she walked on 127th Avenue on January 6, 2020, at approximately 12:01 a.m. Video shows them both dropping to the ground. 


Approximately five minutes later, Khan is seen on the video footage with his pants undone and running off.


At approximately 2:14 a.m., Fuertes was found by a passerby who called 911. The victim, whose dress was lifted to her chest, was barely conscious and incoherent when she was taken to a local hospital, where she later died.


Doctors found that Fuertes had sustained two fractures to her spine, two rib fractures, bruising to her neck and chest and other injuries.


An autopsy determined Fuertes died from blunt force trauma and hypothermia. 






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