A Queens judge yesterday gave the convicted murderer of an 84-year-old woman a chance at parole in 25 years instead of life in prison.
Christopher Rodriguez, 27, could have faced life without parole after a jury found him guilty in February of first-degree murder for the 1999 fatal stabbing of Winifred Rodriguez.
Supreme Court Justice Arthur Cooperman called the murder “a heinous and brutal crime” when he imposed a sentence of 25 years to life.
Prosecutors said Rodriguez attacked the elderly woman because he erroneously believed she was responsible for his parents’ eviction from their College Point apartment building.