'I will forever be on edge': Hate crime victim speaks as Yonkers man is sentenced

The Filipino-American viciously beaten in the vestibule of her Yonkers apartment building remains traumatized. She said the attack, carried out "heartlessly" because of her heritage, forced her from her home of more than two decades.

And, she said, she still can't believe she survived.

She spoke in Westchester County Court Tuesday before Tammel Esco was sentenced to 17½ years in state prison, the term Westchester County Judge Anne Minihan promised him two months ago when he pleaded guilty to first-degree assault as a hate crime.

"We were ripped from our home because I fear for the safety of my daughters and myself," she said, blaming the "viciousness and hate of Tammel Esco.

"I lost my peace of mind, my ability to relax," she said. "I lost months of my life. I will forever be on edge."

On the evening of March 11, the 67-year-old woman was returning to her Riverdale Avenue apartment building. As she reached for her keys inside the vestibule, Esco entered and knocked her to the floor with a punch to the back of the head. He then repeatedly hit her for more than a minute, landing more than 100 blows, before stomping and spitting on her and walking out.

Just before the attack, he had cursed her and called her "Asian."

The woman was hospitalized for several days with bleeding on the brain and facial fractures.

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In her victim impact statement, she called what happened the "darkest time in my life." She thanked the first responders, police and hospital staff who saved her and "held my hand after this vicious assault," and the prosecutors and detectives who handled the case.

She recalled thinking during the attack that she hoped God would let her live, that her daughters needed her. But what also went through her mind was this was a stranger who "heartlessly" spit on, beat and kicked her "just because of my heritage."

Esco, 42, declined to speak.

Minihan said the video made clear how vicious the attack was but also how when it ended he was visibly breathing hard.

"A beating that severe took that much of your energy to do," she said. "It's nothing short of a miracle that she is still with us today."

District Attorney Mimi Rocah said the sentencing wrapped up "one of the most violent and shocking hate crimes in Westchester County" and praised the victim and her family for their courage.

She outlined several efforts to combat hate crime, including a crime analyst dedicated to reviewing bias incidents, a 24-hour multi-language hotline and plans for a hate-crime portal so law enforcement throughout the county can make reports and have access to information on all such crimes.

"We want everyone in Westchester, from Yonkers to Yorktown, to feel at home and feel safe," she said.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Yonkers hate crime: Man gets prison in beating of Asian-American woman