Exsoldier hangs man to death in New York subway car
A video showed the former soldier, identified as Daniel Penny, strangling Jordan Neely, a 30yearold homeless man, on an Ftrain in Manhattan.
Neely died of neck compression, a coroner confirmed. Penny’s lawyers said he had no intention of killing him.
According to witnesses, Neely, who was known to be posing as Michael Jackson on the subway, complained loudly that he was hungry and said he was dying when Penny appeared behind him and grabbed his neck. The former soldier held the homeless man to the bottom of the boxcar until he appeared to stop moving.
Neely was later pronounced dead.
According to a witness interviewed by Portal, 24yearold Penny surrendered to police in southeast Manhattan’s 5th Ward this morning. He is charged with seconddegree manslaughter in Manhattan Criminal CourtManhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said Thursday.
The video with the images sparked a debate among New Yorkers about subway crime and what to do about the city’s growing number of homeless people.
In a statement from her legal team, Penny “expressed her condolences to those close to Mr Neely,” however claimed that Neely aggressively threatened passengers in the subway car.
“Daniel never intended to harm Mr Neely and could not have foreseen his untimely death,” the statement said.
A series of attacks on subway drivers over the past year, particularly Asian Americans, prompted the local government to step up police patrols and expand services for people with mental health problems on the subway system.