Peter Zisopoulos convicted of murder in stabbing of FDNY EMS Capt. Alison Russo, of Huntington 

A Queens jury Monday convicted an Astoria man with a history of mental illness in the 2022 murder of FDNY EMS Capt. Alison Russo, of Huntington, capping a trial in which jurors saw the brutal stabbing of the victim through video surveillance evidence.

The jury of eight men and four women convicted Peter Zisopoulos, 37, of second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon. The defendant used a knife to kill the 61-year-old Russo on Sept. 29, 2022, after he ambushed her on a street corner, evidence showed.

The jury took about an hour to deliberate and sent out a note that a verdict was reached at 1:43 p.m. The final verdict was announced at 2:25 p.m. in a hushed courtroom filled with members of Russo’s family and her fellow EMT workers. Russo's daughter Danielle Fuoco dabbed her eyes with a tissue when the verdict was read.

The defendant, clad in an orange jail jumpsuit, said nothing. He was escorted out, handcuffed, by three armed court officers.

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz hailed the verdict and said Russo could have retired but chose to continue her career of service.

"Lt. Russo was a hero by any account,” Katz said, referring to Russo’s rank at the time of her death. Russo was promoted posthumously to the rank of captain.

Through attorneys, Zisopoulos' family released a statement saying: "The family does not believe justice was served in this case. Their hearts go out to the victim's family. They are still processing the verdict and asking for privacy."

FDNY Commissioner Robert S. Tucker said in a statement he hoped the verdict would bring the victim's family solace.

"While the verdict will not bring Captain Russo back to us, I pray her family and those who loved her get some sense of closure from this," Tucker said. "Captain Russo was a hero and continues to be a source of inspiration and strength to her colleagues and to this Department.”

Jurors delivered the verdict after both defense and prosecution gave closing statements on Monday morning in a trial which took over three days of testimony from 18 witnesses, as well as the testimony of Zisopoulos, who denied he was the man depicted in the videos which captured the killing.

Defense attorney Jonathan Latimer repeated the mantra, based on Zisopoulos’ denials that “it wasn’t Peter” who committed the killing and said the prosecution had not proven that Zisopoulos intended to kill Russo, a necessary element of the crime of second-degree murder.

However, Assistant District Attorney Jonathan Selkowe derided the defense position, saying Zisopoulos’ denials “strained credulity” in the face of all of the video surveillance and testimony depicting him as the killer.

Selkowe also used graphic autopsy photos of Russo’s body, showing how her heart was penetrated nine times by the steak knife used in the attack, an indication, he said, Zisopoulos had the clear intent to take her life.

One shocking image introduced into evidence was a picture of Russo’s body on the table at the medical examiners office just before the autopsy which showed numerous stab wounds in her torso. Selkowe had said Russo suffered 20 stab wounds, while co-defense counsel Gina Mitchell said the count was more like 22.

Zisopoulos had been found unfit by two experts to stand trial because he was delusional and psychotic. But Queens State Supreme Court Judge Ushir Pandit-Durant found Zisopoulos was legally fit to stand trial, even though he didn’t want to invoke the affirmative defense that he was mentally ill at the time of the killing. Over the years, Zisopoulos was found to have been schizophrenic, court records showed.

Most courthouse observers of the case said with such strong evidence against him, the only conceivable defense for Zisopoulos was to claim he was suffering from a mental illness at the time he committed the crime. Such a defense, under state law, could have led to a verdict of not guilty by reason of the mental condition, which in turn would have led to Zisopoulos being sentenced to a mental facility for an indeterminate period of time.

But Latimer and Mitchell apparently couldn’t convince Zisopoulos to invoke the mental illness defense because, as became clear in court, he didn’t want to admit he committed the crime. Now, by virtue of the murder conviction, Zisopoulos faces a prison sentence of 25 years to life for killing Russo.

However, Latimer asked for a special examination of Zisopoulos to see if he is fit to be sentenced and could meaningfully participate in the process leading up to the sentencing date. That examination is scheduled to take place by June 30. The result of that proceeding could lead to yet another special mental examination of Zisopoulos, legal experts noted.

Robert Masters, a former high-ranking attorney in the Queens District Attorney's Office who now works as a legal consultant, said the mental health defense issue in the Zisopoulos case would likely be at the center of any appeal.

“The future of this case will have greater jurisprudential significance than the verdict, as tragic as [the crime] was,” Masters said. “The New York State Court of Appeals has not written on the question of mental fitness for 30 years”

Outside the courtroom, Russo’s brother Craig Fuoco said he was happy with the verdict. Danielle Fuoco declined comment

During the trial, none of Zisopoulos' family members were known to have attended the trial. Evidence at trial showed the defendant lived with his mother and a brother, who was not identified, in a small apartment on 41st Street in Astoria.

Before the start of the trial, Zisopoulos’ mother, Neophyta Zisopoulos, told Newsday her son had suffered from a history of mental illness and that an injury he suffered to his head as a child impacted him.

By Anthony M. DeStefano

tony.destefano@newsday.comtonynewsday

Anthony M. DeStefano has been a reporter for Newsday since 1986 and covers law enforcement, criminal justice and legal affairs from its New York City offices.