Man sentenced to 25 years to life for fatal stabbing of 9/11 emergency responder

NEW YORK — A New York man on Monday was sentenced to serve 25 years to life in prison for the fatal stabbing of a veteran emergency worker while she was on a break, according to prosecutors

Peter Zisopoulos, 37, was convicted in May of second-degree murder for killing Lt. Alison Russo-Elling, then 61, as she walked from her fire department station to a nearby store for food in 2022. She was remembered by mourners as a dedicated public servant who responded to the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.

There’s no indication that Zisopoulos knew Russo-Elling. His public defender lawyer has said that Zisopoulos “has a past psychiatric history going back to 2018.” The lawyer did not immediately respond to a message left with his office on Monday.

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz called the killing “brutal and senseless.”

Russo-Elling was months away from retirement when she died. She was promoted posthumously from EMS lieutenant to the rank of captain.

“Today, we are appreciative that her killer has been sentenced to the maximum punishment: 25 years to life. This sentencing speaks to the brutality of the crime, and though it won’t bring her back, I pray it will finally give her family the closure they deserve,” said Fire Commissioner Robert S. Tucker.

Monday’s sentencing came after the unrelated fatal shooting of two on-duty firefighters in Idaho over the weekend.