Jordan Neely, 30, was assassinated on a northbound F train at the Broadway-Lafayette Street/Bleeker Street station on Monday (1 May) by Daniel Penny, a 24-year-old US Marine Corps veteran.
Prosecutors in Manhattan stated Monday (May 11) that Penny will face criminal charges for using the deadly chokehold on the passenger.
According to police, Neely was aboard a New York subway train when people spotted him acting strangely.
According to eyewitnesses, he was yelling and demanding money on the tube train but had not physically assaulted anybody at this time.
According to accounts, Neely was apparently making threats and harassing passengers, which prompted Penny to step in.
The meeting quickly became violent when the ex-marine held Neely in a chokehold for many minutes, causing him to lose consciousness.
Neely, who was also a skilled Michael Jackson lookalike, was transported to Lenox Hill Hospital and declared dead.
Following a medical examiner’s inquiry, it was ruled that Neely’s death was murder as a consequence of the compression on his neck.
Penny was subsequently questioned by authorities in the hours after Neely’s murder, but was released without charges.
But prosecutors said on Thursday, 10 days after the sad occurrence, that Penny would be arrested and charged with second degree manslaughter.
A charge of this kind might result in a prison sentence of up to 15 years.
They cannot give any additional information until he has been arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court, which they believe will take place tomorrow, the Manhattan district attorney’s office said in a statement.
Penny told officials that he was not intending to murder Neely, but rather to restrain him until police came.
In a statement that his lawyers earlier posted, the former soldier addressed the incidents and claimed self-defense.
Mr. Neely had a documented history of violent and erratic behaviour, the obvious consequence of an ongoing and untreated mental illness, it said.
When Mr. Neely started aggressively threatening Daniel Penny and the other passengers, Daniel intervened to safeguard himself and others until help arrived.
Daniel did not mean to harm Mr. Neely and could not have predicted his untimely death, the statement added. They hope that this terrible tragedy will inspire their elected officials to make a new commitment to addressing the mental health crisis on their streets and subways.
Later, Neely’s family reacted to Penny’s speech, slamming the former soldier and his legal team.
Donte Mills and Lennon Edwards, the lawyers representing Neely’s family, issued a statement saying that Daniel Penny’s press release is neither an apology nor a display of regret.
It is a character assassination and a clear example of why he felt he was entitled to take Jordan’s life. The reality is that he knew nothing about Jordan’s history when he purposefully wrapped his arms around Jordan’s neck, squeezed, and kept squeezing. He made no effort to assist him. In sum, his acts on the train and now his statements demonstrate why he should be imprisoned.
