On March 11, 2022, 42-year-old Tammel Esco was caught on camera brutally attacking a 67-year-old Filipina woman simply because she was Asian. The attacker, who was the victim’s neighbor and lived in the same building, punched her 127 times, repeatedly stomped on her, spat on her, and yelled racial slurs. The victim sustained bleeding of the brain, multiple facial fractures, and bruising and lacerations to the head and face.

According to the investigation, the victim passed by Esco on her way home and he called her an “Asian b*tch.” She ignored him, so he followed her into the vestibule of their building and proceeded to attack her from behind.

Esco pled guilty on Sept. 27, 2022, to Assault in the First Degree as a Hate Crime, a violent felony, and has been held without bail since his arrest by the Yonkers Police Department on March 11, 2022. Esco appeared in court on Nov. 29, 2022 and was sentenced to 17.5 years in prison.

The victim, who wishes to remain anonymous, appeared in court to read a statement: “Because of the viciousness and hate of Tammel Esco, I lost the place I called home for over 24 years, the place where I raised my daughters, and my longtime neighbors... As the attack happened, all I could think was, ‘Please Lord let me live, please Lord my daughters need me.’ A complete stranger heartlessly spit, beat and kicked me over 100 times just because of my heritage... My only hope is that God and the criminal justice system will see fit to make sure this never happens to any other innocent family again.”

As the judge read the sentence in court, she spoke directly to Esco. “You struck the victim 127 times. I know that and that is a known fact because it’s depicted on the video. You were wearing big heavy work boots and you stomped on her,” said Anne Minihan, Westchester County Court Judge. “One of the things that, when I saw the video, most struck me is that when it was done, how exhausted you were. You could see that you were breathing heavily because a beating that severe took that much of your energy to do. It is nothing short of a miracle that she is still with us today.”

In accordance with his sentence, Esco will also be subject to five years of post-release supervision.

Footage from the March 11th attack can be seen below.