(Trends Wide) — Daniel Penny, a former US Marine who strangled homeless street performer Jordan Neely aboard a New York subway train earlier this month, turned himself in to authorities Friday morning.
Penny was charged with manslaughter, according to the Manhattan district attorney’s office.
Penny walked into the police station shortly after 8 am this Friday dressed in a suit.
Daniel Penny surrenders to the 5th Precinct on May 12, 2023 in New York City. Penny turned himself in after being charged with second-degree manslaughter in the strangulation death of Jordan Neely. Neely was murdered last week on the F train after Penny strangled him to death at the Broadway-Lafayette station. (Credit: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Penny arraigned her charges in court this Friday and was not required to plead guilty.
Manhattan District Attorney Joshua Steinglass reviewed the facts of the case obtained through numerous interviews and said in part that “defendant continued to hold Mr. Neely in the chokehold for several minutes.”
Manhattan prosecutors and defense agreed to a bail package that included a $100,000 cash insurance company bond.
Penny will also deliver her passport within 48 hours, and she cannot leave New York state without court approval.
“We fully agree with the Manhattan district attorney’s office that my client has fully cooperated,” said Thomas Kenniff, Penny’s defense attorney.
“Mr. Penny not only has ties to this community, but is actually a pillar of the community,” Kenniff said.
The defense attorney also cited Penny’s record as a decorated sailor, including a humanitarian and good conduct medal.
Penny’s lawyer, Thomas Kenniff, said his client has “his head held high” and is dealing with the situation “with the kind of integrity and honor that is characteristic of who he is” and “characteristic of his honorable service in the Corps.” United States Marines”.
“Shortly after 8 am this morning, Daniel Penny turned himself in at the 5th precinct at the request of the New York County District Attorney’s office,” Kenniff said outside the compound. “He did it voluntarily and with the kind of dignity and integrity that is characteristic of his history of service to this grateful nation.
“The case will now go to court, we expect an arraignment to take place this afternoon and the process will build from there,” Kenniff added.
Neely’s death
People attend a vigil in City Hall Park for Jordan Neely, who was fatally strangled on the subway by a fellow commuter ten days ago, on May 11, 2023 in New York City. (Credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Daniel Penny held Neely, 30, in the Manhattan subway car after Neely began screaming that she was hungry, thirsty and had little to live for. Neely was pronounced dead at a hospital.
His death was ruled a homicide, although the designation does not mean intent or culpability, a spokesman for the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said earlier this week, noting at the time that it was a matter of the system. of criminal justice to determine.
Neely had been “acting erratically” before the incident, but had not attacked anyone on the train before he was choked to death, a witness who recorded the encounter told Trends Wide earlier this month.
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Neely’s death sparked protests and refocused attention on the fights against homelessness and mental illness across America.
The prosecution decision came Thursday afternoon after the prosecutor’s office spent the weekend and much of this week reviewing the accounts of witnesses who were on the train, as well as video of the incident, according to sources. familiar with the case.
Trends Wide reached out to attorneys representing Neely’s family Thursday for comment on the latest developments.
What we know about Jordan Neeley
Jordan Neely was a New York street performer known for his Michael Jackson impersonations. (Credit: Andrew Savulich/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service/Getty Images)
Neely’s family criticized Penny’s “indifference” and called for her jailing. “He did not know anything about Jordan’s story when he intentionally wrapped his arms around Jordan’s neck, and squeezed and kept squeezing,” the family’s lawyers said.
Neely, who became known for his Michael Jackson impersonations, had experienced mental health problems since 2007, when he was 14 and his mother was murdered, his family’s lawyers said. He was traumatized after the brutal murder of his mother was followed by the discovery of his body in a suitcase, his friend Moses Harper told Trends Wide.
Neely has apparently fallen on hard times in recent years, according to a friend and relative.
Prior to his death, Neely had been on a New York City Department of Homeless Services list of the city’s acute needs homeless, sometimes referred to internally as the “Top 50” list, because the people on the list tend to disappear, a source told Trends Wide.
The list is typically not made public, but is compiled in the hope that outreach organizations will keep an eye out for such individuals and alert the city’s department of homeless services to intervene, the source said. The agency is additionally focused on trying to find those on the list and getting them the help they need, the source explained.
Penny is a veteran who served in the US Navy, according to military and police records. He was a sergeant and served from 2017 to 2021, with his last duty assignment being at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, military records show.
Penny’s lawyers said in a statement last week that Neely had been “aggressively threatening” passengers and that Penny and others had “acted to protect themselves.” “Daniel never intended to harm Mr. Neely,” they said.
A law enforcement source previously told Trends Wide that detectives had interviewed Penny.
