Grandmother, 68, Who Was Put In ICU and the 16-Year-Old Attacker Who Pushed Her Down Church Steps and Robbed Her
Ruth Bashinsky, Daily Mail, April 12, 2024
This is the innocent 68-year-old grandmother who was punched in the face and pushed down the stairs outside a Queens church during a robbery that saw her sixteen-year-old attacker take off with her car.
Irene Tahliambouris suffered a fractured skull, black eye, and numerous bruises from the vicious assault that took place outside of St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church on 152 Street in Briarwood around 8.20 on Sunday.
The family of the 68-year-old woman who suffered a fractured skull after being pushed down stairs outside a Queens church says she's out of the ICU and starting to string together sentences.
Exclusive video shows the 16-year-old suspect running away with the woman's purse, which… pic.twitter.com/dk8BXVEaLc
— Crime In NYC (@CrimeInNYC) April 12, 2024
Her attacker Jayvaun Prince, 16, was taken into custody today in a gurney after suffering an unknown medical episode.
He was taken to the hospital with a police escort after suffering an unknown medical episode.
A DCPI spokesperson said he was charged with robbery, assault, grand larceny, and criminal possession of stolen property.
Police said the perpetrator punched the victim in the face causing her to fall back, then stole her purse that contained her cell phone, credit card, $300 in cash, and car keys, before fleeing in her 2006 Nissan Altima to parts unknown.
When emergency responders arrived, she was transported to Booth Memorial Hospital in critical condition, but has since been released from the ICU, her family said, CBS News reported.
Family members said Talhiambouris did not recognize her family for the first few days she was in the ICU, but has since started to show signs of improvement.
Relative Daniel Coffaro Hill, 19, told the Daily News that Tahliambouris started to recognize them on Wednesday.
He said, that she was, ‘brushing her hair today, really slow, but she’s in her right mind.’
He added: ‘She knows who we are now.’
The assailant’s name was not revealed since he is a minor, but he has three prior arrests, including two for robbery in 2023, and one for criminal possession of stolen property.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said today: ‘The viciousness with which the defendant is accused of having committed the robbery at the church struck the city at its core.
‘As alleged, he chose to rob an elderly woman by first pushing her down the stairs and then proceeded to take her purse and leave her to suffer while he took off in her car.
‘He will now have to answer for the serious charges levied against him by my office.
‘Thank you to NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny and the entire Detective Bureau for their relentless work.’
