UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — A Manhattan jury convicted a man Thursday of murdering the mother of his infant daughter in a point-blank Upper East Side shooting that horrified New Yorkers in 2022, prosecutors said.
Isaac Argro was found guilty of murder in the second degree for fatally shooting 20-year-old Azsia Johnson as she pushed their 3-month-old daughter in a stroller near East 95th Street and Lexington Avenue, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said Thursday.
"Over multiple weeks, a jury heard the overwhelming evidence of Isaac Argro’s horrific crime, and today found him guilty of murder within two hours of deliberations," Bragg said.
Prosecutors said Johnson had endured "extensive physical and emotional abuse" by Argro before leaving him to protect herself and her children.
Authorities said Johnson agreed to meet Argro so he could provide supplies for their infant daughter during one of only a handful of visits he had with the baby.
Instead, prosecutors said, Argro lured Johnson to an isolated stretch of the Upper East Side and "shot her point-blank in the temple," while wearing a ski mask.
Bragg described the killing as a "brutal execution" that devastated Johnson’s loved ones, including family members who attended the trial each day.
"She was a loving mother who was determined to give coparenting a try, despite Argro’s ongoing campaign of harassment," Bragg said.
The broad-daylight killing stunned the city in July 2022, drawing national attention after witnesses reported hearing gunfire and seeing Johnson collapse beside the stroller.
Argro was later arrested and indicted on murder charges.
For questions, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.
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