Uniondale man sentenced for meat cleaver attack on then-wife

A Uniondale man is heading to prison for more than three decades after his now-former wife asked a judge for the longest possible sentence Wednesday for the man who almost took her life with a meat cleaver.

A Nassau County jury in April found Michael Taylor, 52, guilty of attempted murder, attempted assault, weapon possession and other charges in connection with the Oct. 3, 2015, violence.

Domestic violence survivor Aurora Workman was in court Wednesday with two of the couple’s three children to ask acting state Supreme Court Justice Howard Sturim to show no mercy while sentencing her ex-husband.

“He became very violent,” said Workman, 56, who was married to Taylor for 12 years of their 20-year relationship. “I’m hoping that he will receive the maximum.”

Prosecutor Jared Rosenblatt said Taylor smashed Workman’s face with a barbell and her back with a meat cleaver, as one of the couple’s daughters witnessed what  Rosenblatt  described as “barbaric behavior.”

The Nassau district attorney’s office has said previously that the victim was able to flee with the help of that daughter.

After a 911 call, police who arrived tried to contact Taylor for two hours before finding him hiding in a basement wall space, according to authorities.

“Any person who can inflict such heartless brutality on their own wife . . . is clearly a danger to society,” Rosenblatt said Wednesday, asking the judge to show no leniency as he meted out Taylor’s punishment.

The prosecutor added that Taylor previously had spent several months in jail after a 2014 conviction for assaulting Workman.

Wednesday’s sentencing was interrupted after Taylor apparently lost consciousness. Court officials cleared the room and called police medics to treat him.

Taylor’s appointed attorney, Dana Grossblatt, said later it appeared to her that Taylor had passed out and hit his head on the defense table before sliding to the floor.

But after a break, Sturim pressed on with the sentencing after finding Taylor well enough to continue.

Taylor also spoke in court Wednesday, saying he loved his three children, proclaiming his innocence and telling the judge his legal representation was ineffective — statements the judge shot down.

“I find no merit to anything you’ve just said,” Sturim told Taylor.

The judge then sentenced Taylor to 32 years in prison, after also remarking: “I will follow your lead and show you the same measure of mercy you showed your family.”