JACKSON HEIGHTS — An 80-year-old woman who was mugged and shoved to the ground a few doors away from her apartment died from her injuries after helping police identify the thief, officials said Friday.
Celica Londono, was walking Saturday afternoon with another woman near the corner of 76th Street and 35th Avenue, when a man cut her purse from her using a box cutter, according to police.
The man, later identified as Jordan Vecchio, 32, then threw her to the ground, injuring her face, arm and abdomen in the 4:40 p.m. attack, officials said.
Londono, who lives a few doors down from where she was attacked, managed to identify Vecchio despite her injuries, police said.
She was taken to Elmhurst Hospital but died Sept. 9 from internal injuries, according to police.
Vecchio — who had recently been arrested for a trespassing in Brooklyn — was out on parole after stealing a car in 2014, records show. Police found two box cutters in his pocket, according to the criminal complaint.
After his arrest on Sept. 5 he allegedly told police officers that he wanted his victim to get hurt.
"I only took her purse, nobody cares about her age," he told officers, according to the criminal complaint.
"I'll max out my parole and come out better and stronger, I wish she got hurt."
Vecchio was arraigned Sept. 6 on robbery, assault, criminal possession of a weapon and other charges for the most recent attack, record show. The judge also ordered a psychiatric evaluation.
Now that Londono has died, further charges are pending, police said.
