Defendant Daniel Penny appeared unaware that by strangling Jordan Neely he had killed the homeless man, insisting hours later that he was not trying to kill the man. , tried to downplay the operation, it was revealed in court Thursday.
“I didn't mean to hurt him. I'm just trying to keep him from hurting other people,” the 26-year-old Marine veteran said during a videotaped interrogation shown to jurors. told two detectives.
“That's what we're taught in the Marine Corps,” Penny added about protecting others, in a video played during the third week of the lightning rod manslaughter trial in Manhattan Supreme Court.
Detective Brian McCarthy testified that he did not tell Penny that Neely had died during the interrogation, but video from the subway car shows officers showing Neely's last breath minutes after the strangulation ended. Penny is shown witnessing the attempt to revive him.
Investigators from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office also monitored Penny through a one-way mirror in Chinatown's 5th Precinct, without her knowledge, McCarthy said.
It was the first time jurors heard the voice of the man whose fate they will weigh when considering whether Penny should be held criminally responsible for Neely's death.
“I'm not trying to kill that guy,” Penny told detectives in the video, adding that he would “right away” once two other men arrived to detain the homeless man. He claimed he had let Neely, 30, go. The man's testimony earlier this week was false.
Witness Eric Gonzalez said that after he approached Penny, “he said, 'I'm going to grab his hand and you can let go.'” He added that he had hoped Penny would remove his arm from Neely's neck, but Penny did not.
Penny's attorney tried to attack Gonzalez's credibility, pointing out that Gonzalez had lied to investigators by initially claiming he was punched by Neely, but Penny was not “bound” on the murder charge. He explained the hoax by saying he was scared.
In a video interrogation shown to jurors Thursday, Penny said he was forced to intervene after Neely “acted in a frantic manner” by smashing through the doors of the Uptown F train and threatening passengers. He said he felt that way.
“He was like, 'I'm going to kill you all,'” Penny, who was wearing a tan jacket, a black hooded sweatshirt and a black hat, told detectives.
He can also be heard muttering under his breath, “All these people are pushing people in front of trains,” referring to the clearly mentally ill Neely.
The video begins with Penny having a friendly conversation with a detective from the 5th Precinct. The two share stories from their time on active duty with Michael Medina, also a former Marine. According to the footage, Penny also performs a chokehold on Medina.
But detectives also read Penny her Miranda rights, suggesting this statement could be used against her later.
Detectives Medina and McCarthy asked Penny if they saw Neely threatening a certain straphanger, and that they continued to put “pressure” on Neely's neck after the two men arrived to restrain him. I asked increasingly probing questions, such as whether I had continued.
“Did you feel like someone's life was in danger?” McCarthy asked at one point.
“100%,” Penny replied.
Jurors were given a transcript of the interrogation that they could read while watching the video.
However, the jury did not see the end of the interrogation, and it abruptly stopped after Penny appeared to realize she might be in trouble, asking if she was in custody and asking to speak to a lawyer. It was done.
It was not clear Thursday whether the prosecutor or the judge made the decision to delete the video, which was played in its entirety during the pretrial hearing.
Penny's lawyers argued that Penny was “unlawfully” detained and asked that the entire interrogation footage be removed from the trial, but Judge Maxwell Wylie rejected the request.
Police ended up cutting off Penny the night she died, but Neely was arrested about two weeks later after footage of the scene was leaked online and sparked outrage.
Jurors heard Thursday morning from a martial arts trainer who taught Penny how to do a “non-lethal” version of a chokehold while he was a Marine.
Instructor Joseph Cavaler testified that Penney applied an “inappropriate” version of the strategy during the subway raid last May.
Cavaler said Penny was taught how to perform a “blood choke,” which involves cutting off blood flow to the brain and then knocking someone unconscious within 13 seconds.
Cavaler said Marines are taught to lock their elbows in the middle of the target's chest in such movements.
But after reviewing close-up footage of Penny strangling Neely on the floor of the F train in Uptown, Cavaler testified that Penny instead moved his elbow closer to Neely's left shoulder and pressed against the homeless man's windpipe with his forearm. .
Cavaler said Penny was taught that strangling someone after they lose consciousness can be fatal, adding that Marines are taught to “relax pressure” on unconscious targets. Ta.
“When a person loses consciousness, that's when they should be released,” the 30-year-old Cavaler testified.
Prosecutors claim Penny continued to strangle Neely for 51 seconds after the last “intentional” moment, but Penny's attorneys dispute this point.
Mr Cavaler was also asked to describe to the jury what it feels like to be suffocated.
“I feel a tingling sensation on my forehead and then it feels like I'm trying to breathe through a crushed straw,” he testified.
Cynthia Harris, the coroner who examined Neely's body, took the stand late Thursday and told jurors that the homeless man's cause of death was “neck compression,” which was consistent with the use of strangulation. said.
Penny has been charged with manslaughter and manslaughter and could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted of the most serious charges.
He has maintained his innocence, and his lawyers argue he should be exempt from criminal charges because he was only acting to protect terrified passengers from Neely.
They also seek to cast doubt on the city medical examiner's office's ruling that Penny's strangulation caused Neely's death.
But prosecutors countered that Penny strangled Neely for a much longer period of time than was considered a threat.
