Prosecutors said a Williston Park man repeatedly hit his 75-year-old mother and asked why she was still breathing.
MINEOLA, N.Y. — A Nassau County attempted murder case is moving forward after prosecutors said a 37-year-old man brutally attacked his 75-year-old mother inside their Williston Park home and was later arrested near a neighborhood elementary school.
John Strano has pleaded not guilty to charges that include second-degree attempted murder, assault, criminal obstruction of breathing and weapon possession. Police said the woman survived the April 1 attack and was hospitalized in stable condition, but prosecutors told the court her injuries were extensive. The case now turns on medical evidence, the victim’s account and what investigators say Strano himself told police after the assault.
Authorities say the violence began during an argument inside a Broad Street home in Williston Park on Wednesday evening. Nassau County police said Strano pushed his mother to the floor, slammed her head against the ground multiple times and punched her repeatedly in the face. Investigators said he then used a metal clamp or other blunt metal object to strike her in the head before choking her and leaving the scene. The woman, who has not been identified publicly, was taken to a hospital after officers responded. Police later tracked Strano to the baseball field at Center Street Elementary School, about a mile away, where he was arrested without incident. The arrest ended an intense local search that unfolded in a residential neighborhood and drew a visible police response.
In court, prosecutors added grim detail to the police account. They said Strano hit his mother on the back of the head more than 36 times with a metal clamp. They also said the victim lost consciousness and suffered severe facial swelling, head swelling and lacerations. Prosecutors further alleged that Strano yelled at her during the attack, asking, “Why aren’t you dying?” and “Why are you still breathing?” Those statements, if admitted later in the case, could become key evidence for the prosecution’s argument that the attack was not just violent but intentional. At the same time, some important facts are still not public. Officials have not released a fuller timeline of the argument, have not said whether there were witnesses inside the home, and have not described what evidence was collected at the scene beyond the allegations involving the clamp.
The case has drawn wider attention because it joins several elements that often carry strong weight in court and public reaction: the age of the victim, the family relationship and the brutality alleged by investigators. Nassau County police formally announced the arrest in a public notice tied to an attempted murder investigation in the village. Local reports from the scene described part of Broad Street shut down for hours while officers worked. Even in a region that regularly sees a high volume of criminal cases, the accusations in this one stood out because they turned a household dispute into a prosecution centered on near-fatal injuries. For the victim, the immediate consequence was emergency medical treatment. For Strano, it meant a rapid escalation from a neighborhood incident to a felony case carrying the possibility of significant prison exposure if he is convicted.
Strano entered a not-guilty plea, and a judge ordered him held without bail, according to follow-up coverage of the arraignment. That means he will remain in custody as the case moves through its early stages unless a later court ruling changes those conditions. Prosecutors are expected to keep building the case with hospital records, photographs, police reports and any statements made by the defendant or the victim. Defense lawyers will have the chance to test the prosecution’s account, challenge intent and examine the exact sequence of events. It is also possible that a grand jury review or later filings could sharpen the factual record. For now, the formal charges already filed set the lane of the case: prosecutors are treating the assault not as a lesser domestic dispute but as an alleged attempt to kill.
Outside the courtroom, the details have landed hard in Williston Park, where a school baseball field became part of the arrest narrative and a family home became the center of a major police investigation. The contrast between the ordinary setting and the allegations described by officers has helped keep the case in public view. Still, the court record is likely to matter more than the shock value of the allegations. As the prosecution continues, the most important questions will be what the victim can testify to, what medical evidence shows about her injuries, and whether prosecutors can prove intent beyond a reasonable doubt. Until then, the most concrete facts remain the charges, the not-guilty plea, the woman’s hospitalization and Strano’s continued custody.
The case remains in its early stage, with the victim recovering and the defendant jailed pending further proceedings. The next key step is a future court appearance in Nassau County, where prosecutors are expected to advance the attempted murder case.
Author note: Last updated April 7, 2026.