Sunset Park Man Sentenced to 20 years to Life in Prison for Hammer Attack That Killed Mother and Critically Injured Two Children

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, June 17, 2026

Sunset Park Man Sentenced to 20 years to Life in Prison for Hammer Attack
That Killed Mother and Critically Injured Two Children

Defendant Previously Argued with Victim about Living Conditions in Shared Apartment

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a Sunset Park man has sentenced to 20 years to life in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder for a 2023 attack in which he bludgeoned and strangled a 43-year-old mother to death and wounded her 5-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter with a hammer.

District Attorney Gonzalez said, "This defendant carried out a shockingly brutal assault on an innocent mother and her two defenseless young children, leaving the family shattered and the community heartbroken. This significant sentence holds him fully accountable and protects the public. I hope it brings some measure of comfort and closure to the loved ones and neighbors of Zhao Zhao and her children."

The District Attorney identified the defendant as Liyong Ye, 50, of Sunset Park, Brooklyn. He was sentenced today by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun to 20 years to life in prison in accordance with a Court offer in which the defendant pleaded guilty last month to second-degree murder and two counts of second-degree attempted murder in exchange for this promised sentence.

The District Attorney said that, according to the investigation, on August 23, 2023, at approximately 1:30 p.m., the defendant attacked Zhao Zhao, 43, and her two children inside an apartment at 531 52nd Street shared by the two families and two roommates. The defendant and Zhao had previously argued over living conditions inside the apartment.

According to the investigation, the defendant called one of his roommates, shortly after the attack, and told him to pick up the defendant's 5-year-old son. When the roommate returned to the apartment, he found the floor and walls of the kitchen covered with blood. The defendant was allegedly holding a bloody hammer in his hand and standing over the bodies of Zhao and her children. The roommate went outside and called 911. The defendant was arrested outside of the building.

Zhao was taken to Lutheran Hospital where she was pronounced dead from massive blunt force trauma to the head and body. Her children were treated at the Pediatric Trauma Unit at Bellevue Hospital and subsequently transferred to a long-term rehabilitation facility where they recovered from their critical injuries.

The District Attorney thanked Office Manager Jannette Ayala and Paralegal Sarah Quashie of the Homicide Bureau for their assistance on the case.

The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Steven Bravo, of the District Attorney's Homicide Bureau, and Assistant District Attorney Chow Yun Xie, Deputy Chief of the Homicide Bureau, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Leila Rosini, Homicide Bureau Chief.

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