A Connecticut man was sentenced to 20 years in prison for violently assaulting his estranged wife in her apartment building in November 2023 and barricading them both inside her home until police arrived and arrested him.
Ubay Muhammad and the victim were going through separation and custody proceedings involving their shared children. On November 10, 2022, Muhammad went to the victim’s apartment building on Colombia Street in Hempstead wearing dark clothing, glasses, and a mask and snuck into the building. The victim left her apartment with her 8- and 5-year-old children and took the elevator to the ground floor where Muhammad attacked her with a 13-inch knife.
Muhammad pulled the woman back into the elevator where he slashed her in the face, dragged her back into her apartment, and barricaded them both inside while he continued to threaten her with a knife.
Two maintenance workers who heard the assault tried to help the victim. When they could not, they called the police who arrived on scene, kicked the door down to the apartment, and gained entry.
The victim was taken to NYU Langone Hospital – Long Island where she was treated for a 4-inch-deep laceration to her face. The injury caused significant nerve damage and left a large scar. The victim also suffered additional puncture wounds to her body.
Muhammad, 38, was arrested on November 10, 2022, by members of the Hempstead Police Department. On April 25, 2024, after a trial before Judge Christopher Quinn, he was convicted of Assault in the First Degree, Burglary in the First Degree and Kidnapping in the Second Degree (all Class B violent felonies); Unlawful Imprisonment in the First Degree (an E felony); Aggravated Criminal Contempt (a D felony); Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Fourth Degree and two counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child (all Class A misdemeanors). He was acquitted on one count of Attempted Murder in the Second Degree (a B violent felony).
He was sentenced on August 26, 2024, to 20 years in prison and five years’ post release supervision.
“With his two children watching and screaming in horror, this defendant lunged at his separated wife, dragged her into an empty elevator, and slashed her across the face as she struggled and fought to get away from his violence,” said Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly. “The terror only continued when Ubay Muhammad shuttered himself and his victim in her apartment, threatening her with the blade until police arrived and knocked down the door. This defendant’s attack permanently scarred this family physically and mentally, and his intense brutality will now cost him two decades of his freedom.”