A Brooklyn man admitted to brutally stabbing a Far Rockaway man to death two and half years ago, prosecutors announced Tuesday.
Norbert Williams, 55, pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter the day before jury selection was scheduled for his trial.
“Early one morning, the defendant asked the victim to help him out and once inside the apartment building’s stairwell, he pounced on the man with an ice pick. The victim was stabbed dozens of times in the head, neck, back and torso,” said Acting Queens District Attorney John M. Ryan. “This was a rage-induced stabbing frenzy that is wholly unacceptable. The defendant has now admitted to this heinous crime and is facing a lengthy term of imprisonment when sentenced.”
According to charges, at 1:30 a.m. on June 18, 2017, Williams knocked on 47-year-old Joseph Smart’s apartment door in Far Rockaway and told him that he needed his help with a couple of guys who were bothering him. Smart, who was barefoot and wearing shorts and an undershirt at the time, rushed to his aid.
As Williams and Smart entered the building’s stairwell, Williams attacked Smart with an ice pick. Smart sustained roughly 30 stab wounds to his upper body, including a deep puncture wound to his back that was so forceful a piece of the ice pick broke off and was stuck in the victim’s spine.
The boots and eye glasses that Williams wore during the attack tested positive for Smart’s blood, which was splattered on both items.
Williams is due to return to court on Jan. 28, 2020, where Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth C. Holder indicated he would sentence Williams to 24 years in prion followed by 5 years’ post-release supervision.
