Asian man beaten in brutal NYC hate crime dies from injuries

Ma, an out-of-work Chinese immigrant, was repeatedly kicked in the head last year when he was collecting cans at Third Avenue and 125th Street. The lone assailant was seen in footage stomping on Ma's head knocked onto the concrete.

Ex-convict Jarrod Powell, who claimed he acted in self-defense, was identified on video assaulting Ma and caught days after the apparent anti-Asian attack, which left the hate crime victim comatose in critical condition before the Dec. 31 death.

Powell, 49, was first charged with attempted murder and two counts of of assault as a hate crime. He has pleaded not guilty. The case has now been designated a homicide, although upgraded charges were not yet filed, the NYPD said Saturday.

Powell—revealed to have a history of prior busts going back to the year 1988 and has called the video evidence "a whole lot of bullsh*t"—is due back in Manhattan Supreme Court on Feb. 10 for Ma's case, the New York Post reported.

Violent hate crimes against Asian Americans and other victims of Asian descent have been surging over the past year in the US, targetting women and elders.