A Jamaica man was found guilty of violently attacking a stranger with a knife and ultimately causing his death nearly three years ago, prosecutors announced Thursday.
Williams Hidalgo, 22, was convicted of second-degree murder and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon. Hidalgo faces 25 years to life in prison when he is sentenced on April 3, Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said.
According to trial testimony, on April 19, 2015, Hidalgo was outside a bar on Jamaica Avenue when he spotted his wife out with another man. Hidalgo became angry and wanted to fight the man he saw with his wife, however, that man left the bar without incident.
Later, at 4:25 a.m., Hidalgo saw 39-year-old Otto Ajpacaja trying to hail a taxi, pounced on him and stabbed him once in the upper thigh. As Ajpacaja ran into the street, Hidalgo chased after him and stabbed him again in the chest and back.
During the attack, prosecutors said, Ajpacaja’s femoral artery in his leg was severed and he died as a result of the injuries.
“This was a senseless act of violence fueled by misguided rage and absurdity,” Brown said in a statement. “The defendant in this case attacked a stranger because he wanted to fight someone – anyone. The victim was stabbed four times, one of the wounds severing an artery, and he died. The defendant now faces a very long term of incarceration for this heinous and pointless killing.”
