John Strano pleaded not guilty after prosecutors described a violent attack on his mother.
WILLISTON PARK, N.Y. — Prosecutors said a metal clamp was used to strike a 75-year-old woman more than three dozen times in an attack that led to attempted murder charges against her son.
The allegation adds weight to the case against John Strano, 37, because it connects the woman’s head injuries to a specific object and to a weapon charge. Nassau County police said Strano attacked his mother during an argument inside a Broad Street home on April 1, then choked her and left. He has pleaded not guilty and was remanded after his court appearance.
The police account begins with a domestic argument that detectives said became violent. Officers responding at 5:42 p.m. found the injured woman after being called to Amherst Street for an aided case. She told police she had been attacked inside a Broad Street residence. Detectives said Strano pushed her to the ground and repeatedly slammed her head against the floor. They said he punched her in the face many times and struck her head with a blunt metal object. Prosecutors later identified that object in court as a metal clamp. They said it was used against the back of her head more than three dozen times, a detail that moved the object from a general police description into a key piece of the case.
The woman also was choked, police said. Prosecutors said she lost consciousness at one point and suffered severe lacerations along with swelling to her face and head. Her name was not released, and police said she was taken to an area hospital in stable condition. During the attack, prosecutors said, Strano made comments that included “Why aren’t you dying?” and “Why are you still breathing?” Those alleged statements may be important because attempted murder requires proof of intent, not only proof of injury. The defense has entered a not guilty plea, and the statements have not been tested at trial.
Strano was not at the home when police found him, authorities said. After the attack, police said, he fled the scene. Officers located him about a mile away at Center Street Elementary School and arrested him on the baseball field. Students had already left for the day, according to accounts from the scene. Police said the arrest was made without incident, and Strano was brought to a hospital for an evaluation. The Herricks School District said it knew about the police activity but had no comment. Authorities did not report any threat to students or staff connected to the school.
The charges filed in the case track the separate parts of the alleged attack. Second-degree attempted murder focuses on the claim that Strano tried to kill his mother. Two counts of second-degree assault address the injuries and alleged conduct that caused them. Criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation covers the choking allegation. Fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon covers the alleged use of the metal object. The number of blows described by prosecutors, the location of the injuries and the reported statements are likely to be reviewed closely in later hearings.
Police did not release the full medical record, but the public descriptions show why the case was treated as severe. Head injuries can become central evidence in assault prosecutions because they may be documented through photographs, emergency room notes and physician testimony. Loss of consciousness also can affect how prosecutors explain the risk created by an attack. In this case, officials have described injuries to the head and face, a choking allegation and repeated strikes with an object. Those details, taken together, support the charges prosecutors chose to bring, though they remain allegations at this stage.
The Broad Street scene also became part of the public record because of the scale of the police response. Witnesses described part of the street being closed for several hours while officers investigated. Local media reported that investigators responded to 23 Broad St. shortly before 6 p.m. Williston Park is a small village in Nassau County where residential blocks, schools and local businesses sit close together. The distance between the home and the school field where Strano was arrested made the police search visible beyond the house where the attack allegedly began.
Several questions remained unanswered after the first reports. Police have not said what caused the argument, whether there was a prior history of calls involving the home or whether the metal clamp was recovered at the scene. Officials also have not identified the hospital where the woman was treated or released a detailed update on her recovery. Future court proceedings may answer some of those questions through discovery and filings. Prosecutors will have to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt, while Strano’s not guilty plea preserves his right to challenge the evidence.
As of April 27, the case remained in the court process in Nassau County. The mother survived and was reported stable, while Strano remained accused of attempted murder and related felonies tied to the alleged attack inside the Williston Park home.
Author note: Last updated April 27, 2026.