A former Brooklyn resident was sentenced to 17 years in prison for beating his former girlfriend over several hours, repeatedly stabbing her and slashing her throat. The defendant fled from New York following the 2016 attack, was arrested in California in 2021 and convicted at trial last month.
“This was a life-altering assault that the victim survived because of her will to live for her children," Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said.
"She showed tremendous courage by coming to court and testifying against her abuser and detailing the many physical and emotional traumas she suffers to this day. I also commend our prosecutors for their commitment to bringing the defendant to justice.”
The District Attorney identified the defendant as Jun Zhang, 59, formerly of Sunset Park, Brooklyn. He was sentenced today by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice E. Niki Warin to 17 years in prison and five years’ post-release supervision. The defendant was convicted of second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault, and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon on February 1, 2023, following a jury trial. The judge also issued a 30-year full order of protection.
The victim, a 49-year-old woman, and the defendant, her ex-boyfriend, managed Relax Spa, a massage parlor located at 5911 7th Avenue, in Sunset Park, at the time of the incident. According to the evidence, on August 23, 2016, at approximately 4:00am, inside of Relax Spa, the defendant accused the victim of cheating on him, pushed her onto a couch, pulled her hair, picked up a knife, threatened her and prevented her from leaving.
The physical abuse continued over several hours including stabbing her in the chest and slicing her throat multiple times with a knife. He then dragged her into a massage room and left her on the floor. When he eventually returned, he placed his fingers under the victim’s nose, but she held her breath and pretended to be dead.
When the defendant finally left the massage parlor, the victim managed to make it out onto the street, where she collapsed. Two calls were made to 911 describing a woman covered in blood on the sidewalk.
Emergency medical technicians responded, and she was rushed to the hospital where she was intubated. She remained in the hospital for a month where she was treated for brain bleeding, a liver laceration, collapsed lungs, deep lacerations to her neck and puncture wounds to her chest. A doctor testified at trial that she had lost 30%-40% of her blood.
The defendant fled New York, but on May 10, 2021 he was arrested in connection with a shooting in California. That case was not prosecuted because the victim did not cooperate. His fingerprints, however, triggered the New York warrant for his arrest and he was extradited to Brooklyn to stand trial.
