A New York City beefy fitness model was sentenced to eight years behind bars after stabbing the host of his rental apartment multiple times in a 2018 attack that made headlines.
Thirty-year-old Geoffrey Tracy was handed the sentence more than four years after he attacked his roommate, Gregory Kanczes, 50, with a knife and left him covered in blood in the neighborhood of Hell’s Kitchen, New York City.
During the January 10 sentencing at the Manhattan Supreme Court, a victim impact statement written by Kanczes was read to the court, with the victim telling the defendant that he survived the near-fatal assault only by the grace of God.
Tracy was convicted at trial last month of assault and attempted assault. During the sentencing, Judge Curtis Farber said he had been very disturbed by seeing Tracy assaulting a man, citing video footage of the August 14, 2018 attack taken by a cell phone.
Judge Farber said that the footage speaks for itself and shows exactly what happened, clearly showing an unarmed man being pursued at knife point in his home in his underwear.
According to prosecutors, Tracy deserved to be sentenced to 10 years in prison and get an additional five years of supervised release. The defense, however, argued that a prison sentence of five years was sufficient punishment for the crime.
Judge Farber eventually handed the defendant an eight-year sentence for his assault conviction and an additional four years for the attempted assault conviction. The sentences will run concurrently.
After the proceedings, Tracy’s attorney, Thomas Kenniff, told reporters that although the defense team was hoping that the judge would only sentence their client to the mandatory minimum of five years, they were relieved the judge’s sentence was below what the prosecution had asked for.
The near-fatal stabbing happened a few days after Tracy, who was 25 at the time, moved into Kanczes’ New York City apartment, planning to stay there for 10 days while he did a gig as a dancer at a strip club. During his stay, the new roommate and his host weren’t getting along, and Kanczes allegedly was “coming on to” him.
Prosecutors said that the bodybuilding model stabbed Kanczes about 16 times in a rage after Tracy accused Kanczes of going through his stuff. Tracy recorded part of the argument on his phone.
Assistant District Attorney Courtney Razner told the court during the trial that the evidence showed that Tracy took a knife from the kitchen and followed Kanczes into the hallway of the apartment building, even though Kanczes tried to get away.
Tracy stabbed Kanczes in the neck, shoulder, ribs, chest, back, and arms. Prosecutors argued that the stab wound in the neck could have been fatal as it was very close to his artery.
The defendant initially fled the scene and disposed of the knife. Prosecutors said Tracy was on steroids and was selling the performance-enhancing drugs at the time of the attack.
Kanczes, who did not make a court appearance, told Tracy in his victim statement that the attack left him with many scars and made him feel less attractive to others as his self-image lessened. He said he now has to be extra cautious when walking around the city as he feels like an easier target for criminals.
Kanczes also said that he suffers post traumatic stress from the attack, with anxiety, flashbacks, and insomnia.
Tracy spoke at the hearing and claimed he was not a violent person and wished he could go back in time and not move to New York City.
