(JTA) — A man convicted of robbing and murdering an 81-year-old Orthodox Jewish man received the maximum prison term.
William Hill, 28, was sentenced Monday to 25 years to life in the murder of Jacob Gerstle, who was a great-grandfather when he was killed in 2006.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Bruce Allen called the attack "one of the most brutal crimes I’ve had to face."
Hill beat up Gerstle in the elevator of the elderly man’s Washington Heights apartment, as Gerstle returned from synagogue, according to the New York Daily News. The thief then forced his way into Gerstle’s apartment and stole $250 and his cell phone.
Gerstle fell into a coma and died two days later.
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