Murder most foul committed on eve of Mother’s Day

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Just a day before one of the most-loved days in the year, Mother’s Day, a most dastardly crime was committed against a mother in Queens, New York, Saroj Sharma.

According to the Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, Pushkar Sharma, 28, has been charged with the murder of his 65-year-old mother on May 8, 2021 morning.

“What should have been a celebration of Mother’s Day became a brutal, tragic nightmare for a Queens family.  The defendant in this horrific case allegedly choked, punched, sexually assaulted and killed his mother in their home,” Katz is quoted saying in a May 9 press release.

According to the NYPD, the murder occurred at 88-48 Winchester Blvd, in Jamaica, Queens. And they identified the victim as Saroj Sharma.

The NYPD, responding to a request for information from Desi Talk, noted that on Saturday, May 8, 2021 at approximately 8:41 am, police responded to a 911 call about an unconscious female inside of 88-48 Winchester Blvd. That address falls within the 105 Precinct.

“Upon arrival, officers encountered EMS providing emergency care to an unconscious and unresponsive 65-year-old female who had bruising on her face and neck. EMS subsequently transported the female to Long Island Jewish Medical Center (where) she was pronounced deceased.”

Pushkar Sharma, of Winchester Blvd. in Jamaica, Queens, was arraigned on May 9, afternoon in Queens Criminal Court before Judge Toko Serita on a complaint charging him with 2-counts of murder in the second degree and sexual abuse in the first degree.

Judge Serita ordered him to return to court on May 24, 2021. If convicted, Pushkar Sharma faces up to 25 years to life in prison.

According to New York Daily News which quoted the police, Saroj Sharma’s daughter found her in the basement of her home at 8:30 am.

According to the details provided by the DA’s office, on Saturday, May 8, between 8:00 a.m. and 8:40 a.m., Pushkar Sharma allegedly approached his mother, Saroj Sharma, from behind, “placed his hands around her throat and then began to choke and punch her multiple times in the face. The defendant and his mother struggled for several minutes, falling to the floor as he allegedly continued to punch and strangle her. The defendant then allegedly sexually assaulted his mother and continued to strangle her until she lost consciousness,” the press release said.

A news report on meaww.com noted that Pushkar Sharma reportedly had blood on his clothes when he walked into the 105^th Police Precinct.

All major news channels reported on this horrific story since it broke. A photo of Pushkar Sharma was not available from the NYPD or the DA’s office.

According to the charges, DA Katz said, immediately after allegedly killing his mother, Pushkar Sharma went up to his room, got his wallet and keys and walked to the police precinct and reported his criminal actions.

The crime has shaken the middle-class neighborhood on a street that boasts modest suburban homes ranged side-by-side. Redfin.com, a site dedicated to home sales, estimates the current value of the home where the murder took place at 88-48 Winchester Blvd, at $678,913.

The more than 1,500 sq. ft. home sits on a plot of nearly 3,000 sq. feet, the Redfin site says, adding that, “This home last sold for $380,000 on Feb 24, 2009,” which could be when the Sharma family may have purchased the property, though this could not be confirmed.

The investigation into the murder was conducted by Detective Christopher Alden of the Queens South Homicide Squad and Detective Brendan Parpan of the New York City Police Department’s 105^th Precinct Detective Squad, according to the DA’s office.

Assistant District Attorney Bryan Kotowski of the District Attorney’s Homicide Bureau is prosecuting the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Peter J. McCormack III, Senior Deputy Bureau Chief, John Kosinski and Karen Ross, Deputy Bureau Chiefs and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Major Crimes Daniel A. Saunders, the press release from the DA’s office said.