Connecticut man sentenced to 20 years in prison for Hempstead attack, kidnap of estranged wife

A Connecticut man was sentenced to two decades in prison for kidnapping his estranged wife and slashing her face with a 13-inch knife nearly two years ago, Nassau officials said.

Ubay Muhammad, 38, of Bridgeport, was sentenced to 20 years behind bars and 5 years' post-release supervision in Nassau County Supreme Court on Monday for the attack in Hempstead Village in November 2022, Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced.

Leading up to the incident, Donnelly said, Muhammad and his wife, whom authorities would not identify, were going through a separation and custody proceedings involving their children, 8 and 5.

Doug Rankin, the Brooklyn-based defense attorney representing Muhammad, declined to comment when reached by phone Friday afternoon.

On Nov. 10, 2022, Muhammad “snuck” into the victim’s Hempstead apartment building, according to a news release. Officials said he attacked his estranged wife after an elevator carrying her and their kids reached the ground floor.

“With his two children watching and screaming in horror, this defendant lunged at his separated wife, dragged her into an empty elevator, and slashed her across the face,” Donnelly said.

Muhammad then barricaded himself and the woman inside her apartment, where “the terror only continued” as he threatened her with a 13-inch knife, Donnelly said.

Newsday previously reported that responding Hempstead Village police officers followed a trail of blood from the elevator to the third-story apartment. Nassau officials said officers kicked down the door to arrest Muhammad.

On April 25, Muhammad was convicted on first-degree assault, first-degree burglary, second-degree kidnapping, first-degree unlawful imprisonment, aggravated criminal contempt, fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. He was acquitted on one count of second-degree attempted murder, according to Nassau officials.

Muhammad’s estranged wife was sent to a hospital and treated for puncture wounds to her body, and a 4-inch-deep cut to her face that Nassau officials said caused significant nerve damage and left a large scar.

“This defendant’s attack permanently scarred this family physically and mentally,” Donnelly said, adding that Muhammad’s “intense brutality will now cost him two decades of his freedom.”