Yao Pan Ma, 61, was collecting cans on the streets of East Harlem to help pay his rent when he was brutally attacked and left seriously injured in April 2021. Months later, on New Year’s Eve in 2021, he succumbed to his injuries.
His attacker, Jarrod Powell, 51, is facing a 22-year jail term.
The murder received widespread media coverage due to the increase in hate crimes against Asian Americans in the United States.
According to prosecutors, Powell approached the Chinese immigrant after spotting him on the sidewalk, and in an unprovoked attack, hit him from behind, causing Ma to fall to the ground. Powell repeatedly stepped on Ma’s head before kicking him in the head, face, and neck.
A bus driver at a stoplight observed the assault and called 911. Ma was hospitalized for severe brain damage and was put on life support.
Ma spent months in a coma before passing away on December 31, 2021. Four days after the assault, Powell was detained and charged with several felonies, including attempted murder and hate crimes.
The culprit admitted that he had chosen Ma as a target because he was Asian.
Ma and his wife moved to the United States in October 2018 from China, where Ma had previously worked as a dim sum chef.
When COVID-19 hit in 2020, Ma was employed as a chef in the United States, and his wife was a home care aide. Facing the loss of their jobs and hardship, they started gathering cans and bottles so they could pay their rent.
Powell will be sentenced on March 9, 2023.
According to a study by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, hate crimes against Asians in 16 major cities in the US increased by 164% in 2021.
In NYC, the District Attorney’s Office says it is currently investigating 44 cases of hate crimes against Asians.
