Freed New York ‘rabbi killer’ David Ranta suffers heart attack
The murder of Rabbi Werzberger, who was killed during a botched jewelry heist, had a great impact on New York’s religious Jewish community. Thousands of people attended his funeral.
NEW YORK – The man jailed for 23 years after being wrongfully convicted of murdering a rabbi suffered a heart attack Saturday, 24 hours after finally being released.
David Ranta, 58, was rushed Saturday to an undisclosed New York hospital, his lawyer, Pierre Sussman told the New York Times.
Sussman said doctors found one of his arteries was completely blocked and another was halfway closed.
A stent hs been put in and Ranta would undergo more surgery later this week.
"The toll that his years in prison have taken on David is great,” said Sussman.
When releasing Ranta on Friday, the judge said her apology was "grossly inadequate."
For Ranta, his release was difficult to comprehend immediately.
"I'm overwhelmed," Ranta said, reported CNN.
"I feel like I'm under water, swimming… As I said from the beginning, I had nothing to do with this case."
Ranta was convicted and sentenced to 37 years in prison for the murder of Rabbi Chaskel Werzberger, a Holocaust survivor.