Who is Daniel Penny? Will he be charged for killing Jordan Neely? Explained

Daniel J. Penny (right) has been officially recognized as the former Marine who fatally choked homeless man Jordan Neely on the NYC subway. (Source : DailyMail.co.uk)

Daniel James Penny, 24, has been named as the former US Marine who strangled Jordan Neely to death in a New York City subway car. The most recent information about Neely’s death’s aftermath, what is known about the murderer, and any potential legal repercussions are provided below as the investigation into Neely’s death continues.

What happened?

Neely, 30, was choked by Penny on an F train on Monday in a confrontation that was caught on camera. Penny may be seen in the roughly four-minute footage lying on the ground with her arms tightly crossed around Neely’s neck. While another unnamed man is holding Neely’s arms by the wrists, he resists.

A spectator enters the train car and cautions Penny: “If you suffocate him, that’s it. The conductor and others can be heard summoning for police. You don’t want to be charged with murder.

Soon after, Penny relaxes the choking grip, and the guys turn Neely onto his side, appearing to be unconscious. Later, a local hospital declared Neely dead.

After questioning Penny, the police let him go. Neely’s death was later ruled to be a homicide after the medical examiner’s office discovered that he had died from compression of his neck.

Why did he choke him to death?

The inquiry is ongoing, and a grand jury will probably be appointed to decide whether or not charges ought to be filed. The DA’s office and the NYPD have been asked, according to Penny’s lawyer, to cooperate.

According to ABC’s sources in law enforcement, the district attorney’s office has met with six witnesses but is still looking for at least another four.

The moment Penny freed Neely was not captured in the initial film, which showed Penny placing Neely in a chokehold as two other guys restrained his arms.

Within Penny’s arms, Neely became limp. Penny released him when he stopped responding and got to his feet. Neely, a schizophrenic, was reportedly acting erratically, throwing trash, and yelling that he wanted to “die” or “go to jail” because he was tired of going without food, according to witnesses.

The lengthier footage, which surfaced today, captures the moments immediately following the train’s arrival at Broadway-Lafayette station on Monday at 2:30 p.m.

When the video starts, Penny already has Neely in a chokehold. Neely fought on the ground for two minutes and five seconds, wriggling his feet. After two minutes and six seconds, he became limp, and the train had already boarded a bystander.

The man alerted Penny that Neely had defecated, which he believed to be a sign that he was dying. The man may be heard but is not seen.

He said,

“He’s defecated on himself… you’re going to kill him now.”

Neely was then placed in the recovery position by the guys. By this time, his limbs were limp.

Another man who was assisting in Neely’s restraint said that Penny was no longer “squeezing” Neely and that the stain on his pants was an old one.

He replied,

“He’s not squeezing? All right. Because after he’s defecated himself that’s it. You’ve got to let him go.”

Then he issued a murder charge warning. Hey, can you hear me? the second man said as he turned to face Neely. When the guy was met with silence, he ordered Penny to stand up. Without saying anything, Penny frees Neely and gets to his feet. That was one heck of a chokehold, man, the bystander can be heard saying.

The following few seconds were spent trying to get Neely into the recovery posture by Penny and the other man who had been assisting him. Neely seems to convulse or take a big breath after three minutes and fifty seconds. At three minutes and 52 seconds, the video ends. It’s not obvious if he relocated again.

Despite being questioned on Monday, Penny has not yet been detained. His lawyers claim that to assist with the inquiry, they have contacted the NYPD and the district attorney’s office.

Protesters in Manhattan climb subway tracks:

During a protest on Saturday night at the 63rd and Lexington station in Manhattan, a group of demonstrators demanding justice for Jordan Neely went down onto the subway tracks.

According to witnesses, many people were detained as police worked to empty the station. At the Broadway-Lafayette station, where Neely was killed, protesters had assembled on Saturday afternoon. They then marched through Manhattan, momentarily taking the platform and stopping traffic at 63rd and Lex.

Who is Daniel Penny?

Penny completed his senior year of high school at West Islip High School in 2016, which is located in a South Shore suburban neighborhood on Long Island, around 90 minutes from Manhattan. 2017 saw him enlist in the Marines. Penny is a college student right now, according to his attorney.

Daniel Penny.(Source : DailyMail.co.uk)

According to his service records, Penny was a rifleman until 2021, attained the rank of sergeant, and served with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit on a Mediterranean deployment, according to The Washington Post.

Willy Horan, who bought the beachfront home from Penny’s grandpa in 2019, claims that Penny stayed there for a while. Horan took a break from his garden work on Friday morning to express his sorrow about Penny’s situation and Neely’s passing. It’s awful that a 30-year-old had to pass away for it to stop. But the youngster was in peril; as a marine, what should he have done? Horan questioned. “Tell Adams it’s time to address mental illness now that he has the rats under control.”

Penny stated on his profile on the service industry employment site Harri that he realized he was “passionate” about “helping, communicating, and connecting to different people from all over the world” after serving as a squad commander on two deployments.

Will he be charged for killing Jordan Neely?

According to the Daily News, prosecutors and detectives are reportedly contemplating possible charges against the veteran, and the Manhattan district attorney’s office is “considering whether the case should go before a grand jury to determine whether charges should be brought.”

According to Gothamist, Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steinglass is in charge of the investigation and “is one of the office’s go-to lawyers on high-profile, violent crimes.”

The footage showing the choking hold would not be sufficient for prosecutors to prosecute Penny with murder, according to Catherine Christian, an attorney who worked for the Manhattan District Attorney’s office for 30 years. State law requires that prosecutors demonstrate that there was a purpose to kill.

Christian stated that if charges are brought, they are more likely to be for second-degree manslaughter or criminally negligent murder, which would require the prosecution to prove that Penny was “not reasonably acting in self-defense,” according to Gothamist.

More personal experiences must be discovered for any prospective case because so yet just one witness has come out publicly. Christian told Gothamist, “What others who weren’t in the vehicle are saying is meaningless. I would expect that the police officers obtained the name and contact information of everyone in that tube car. I would thus like to know: What did they see? Who or what did they hear?.” The NYPD urged potential witnesses to come forward and provide any information they may have about the attack on Thursday.

Penny’s lawyer releases statement

In a statement Friday night, Daniel Penny’s lawyer, Thomas Kenniff, said that Penny had taken action “to protect” himself and other passengers when Neely “began aggressively threatening” them.

Penny, according to Kenniff, “never intended to harm Mr. Neely and could not have foreseen his untimely death.”

Neely’s “documented history of violent and erratic behavior” was also mentioned in the statement, which also lamented the city’s mental health issue.

Who was Jordan Neely?

Newsweek was informed on Thursday by an NYPD spokeswoman that Neely had a history of 42 previous arrests ranging from 2013 to 2021. He was detained four times for alleged assaults in addition to charges of transportation fraud and criminal trespass.

Neely had one outstanding warrant at the time of his passing for an alleged attack on a 67-year-old lady in 2021. The representative noted that many of Neely’s arrests were for purported local law violations, as well as lesser offences like drinking in public with an open container.

Calls for safer subways have been made by passengers and city residents as a result of many incidents that have occurred in New York City’s subway system during the previous two years. 461 criminal assaults, or 100 more crimes than in 2020, were reported in the city’s underground system in 2021, according to data the NYPD supplied Newsweek last year. The New York Post at the time stated that this figure is also the highest since 1997. Eight murders were also recorded in 2021.

Police Statement:

According to his relatives, Neely was a Michael Jackson mimic whose mental condition had been worse recently. The precise moment of death has not been confirmed by the NYC Medical Examiner, who yesterday declared Neely’s death to be a murder.

Even after the police arrived, Neely remained unconscious. Later in the afternoon, he was pronounced dead at the Lenox Hill Hospital.

Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, must now decide whether to file charges. He is requesting information regarding the event from the public together with the NYPD. The train in issue did not have any surveillance equipment.

A DA’s office spokesperson said in a statement yesterday:

‘This is a solemn and serious matter that ended in the tragic loss of Jordan Neely’s life.

‘As part of our rigorous ongoing investigation, we will review the Medical Examiner’s report, assess all available video and photo footage, identify and interview as many witnesses as possible, and obtain additional medical records.

‘This investigation is being handled by senior, experienced prosecutors and we will provide an update when there is additional public information to share.

‘The Manhattan D.A.’s Office encourages anyone who witnessed or has information about this incident to call 212-335-9040.’

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