Teen who allegedly shoved NYC grandma, left her with fractured skull after church assault should be in jail: son
A Queens grandmother who was left with a fractured skull after she was shoved down the steps of her church and robbed but has little memory of the attack, said her son — who is calling for the teen thug accused of attacking her to be charged as an adult.
“She seems to think she did something wrong,” Freddy Tahliambouris told The Post Saturday. “She thinks this is somehow her fault.”
Irene Tahliambouris, 68, was allegedly pushed down the stairs at St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Briarwood by teen Jayvaun Prince on April 7, leaving her with a cracked skull and bleeding on the brain, authorities said.
Prince, who attempted suicide after his arrest, was awaiting arraignment Saturday.
“He has to be accountable for his crime as an adult because that’s exactly the way he’s acting — like an adult,” Freddy Tahliambouris, 51, said. “He needs to understand that what he did is not right.
“I think jail time is required for anyone who commits this level of violence.”
“I don’t understand at 16 years old how he has so much violence in him and anger in him to do something like this to another human,” the son added.
The teen had allegedly mugged a 50-year-old woman three days earlier and stole her car — one of nine prior arrests on his record, police sources said.
He was also arrested twice for misdemeanor assault, in December 2023 and then again on Feb. 2, according to law enforcement sources. He was also charged with six robberies in Queens in August, the sources said.
“He should not have been released after those arrests,” the son said. “I mean, he’s been charged with so many other crimes.”
As the grandmother lay at the bottom of the church stairs, the teen can allegedly be seen in video of the incident picking her pockets and stealing her purse before taking off with her 2006 Nissan Altima, police sources said.
The son, who said he couldn’t stomach watching the footage of her attack, said his mom is still in shock and seems to have little memory of what happened. The grandmother of two is now recovering at home.
“I couldn’t believe it and I couldn’t bear to watch the video not even once,” he said. “I don’t know how people that are out there living among us could be so cruel to another person. It’s unbelievable.”
His mom was kind-hearted and would have handed over her purse gladly, the son believes.
“I really don’t understand this person’s morals and what’s behind all of this,” he said. “He should have just asked for the bag. My mother would have been happy to give it to him, not a problem.”
His mom would typically begin preparing soon for Greek Orthodox Easter on May 5, he said, but right now her long term prognosis isn’t clear.
“I’m praying every day she’s gonna recover 100% and she’s gonna be back to her normal state,” the son said. “But we’re still not 100% clear that everything’s gonna operate, that her fingers are going to be moving, her legs are going to be moving. We’re just praying that everything’s going to come back to her slowly.”
Detective Endowment Association President Paul DiGiacomo said the state’s criminal justice system is failing in part because of laws that raised the age that a child can be prosecuted as an adult in criminal cases from 16 to 18.
“New Yorkers have been asking for help since the crisis began in 2019 — and the detectives union has been telling Albany and the City Council how to fix it,” he said. “If they want to prevent more tragedy, they’ll start listening.”
