In a disturbing case out of Queens, a man was sentenced to 25 years in prison after pushing his 64-year-old mother out of a third-floor window. Despite his attempts to redirect blame onto his mother, the court was not swayed by his claims.
George Tsintzelis, 37, received the maximum sentence for the shocking assault that took place in 2024. During his court appearance, he audaciously claimed that his mother was the one with mental health issues, attempting to absolve himself of responsibility by saying, âShe did that to herself.â
He continued his plea to Supreme Court Justice Peter Vallone, lamenting, âItâs not fair that I lose my freedom because of somebody that has mental health issues.â His attempts to discredit the prosecution fell flat, as he accused the District Attorney of lying and argued that his past crimes were unrelated to the current case.
The jury, however, found Tsintzelis guilty of attempted murder in December. The verdict was based on the brutal attack on his own mother, which occurred after she refused to give him money for drugs on November 15, 2024.
Despite the terrifying ordeal, Paraskevi Tsintzelis survived her three-story fall in Astoria and bravely testified against her son. However, the trauma of the incident kept her from attending the sentencing, unable to face him in court on that day.
Paraskevi Tsintzelis miraculously survived the three-story fall in Astoria to testify against her troubled son â but couldnât bring herself to face him in court for his sentencing on Wednesday.
âHe deserved what he got,â the thugâs sister, Argyro, told The Post. âI donât want to see him on the streets again. I feel safer. He shouldnât be in society. He threw his life in the garbage.
âHe doesnât care,â she added. âItâs all about him.â
Prosecutors said George Tsintzelis, who has had a string of prior arrests, was a bad seed who had repeatedly terrorized his mother for years, assaulting her and stealing from her to feed his drug habit.
On the day he tried to kill her, prosecutors said he held a knife to her throat before dragging her to the window and pushing her out â then tried to cover his tracks and claimed he wasnât even there.
âArguably the worst part of this is he left her there to die on the ground,â Assistant District Attorney Christina Mavrikis said in court. âHe called 911 and he pretended to have no idea what just happened.â
Mavrikis said even after his arrest the convicted son tried to manipulate his battered mother.
âHe called her from Rikers, violating the order of protection to try to emotionally manipulate her into not coming to court and testifying here to tell everybody what had happened to her,â the prosecutor said.
âShe told me that she was haunted by the memory of that evening,â she said. âShe cannot sleep in her own bed anymore, and she has not done so since she returned from the hospital after the incident. She told me, âas a mother I tried. I love my son. I didnât want this. I tried to help him, support him.
ââI tried to get him into programs, I let him live with me,ââ Mavrikis said. ââHe needs help, but Iâm also scared of what heâll do to me if he gets out.â She knows if he were to get out he is a great risk of injuring her and even killing her.â
Argyro Tsintzelis said her mom had a doctorâs appointment on the day her brother was being sentenced, and still needs more surgery, including on her shattered ankle.
âItâs the eighth surgery but it might not be the last,â she said.
In court, even the judge got tired of her sonâs rambling, cutting his phony claims short.
âOk, youâre done,â Valllone said. âYou were asking for mercy today, but what I give you today is justice, justice that you deserve. The sentence today is for what you did to your mom. Iâm sentencing you to the maximum allowed â 25 years.
âShe always provided a safe haven for you,â the judge added. âHow did you repay her? A life of abuse, culminating with you pushing her out of a third-story window. You attempted to kill her and you failed. Now this poor woman, as you just heard, couldnât even come to court today.â
In a statement, Queens DA Melinda Katz called the crime âan unthinkable actd of violence.
âWe hope todayâs sentencing brings a measure of solace to Ms. Tsintzelis as she continues to recover from her injuries,â Katz added.
