NEW YORK – A Manhattan forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy on Jordan Neely, who died during an assault on a New York City subway train, said Friday that Neely had synthetic drugs in her system at the time of her death and died of suffocation. announced that it was.
Dr. Cynthia Harris of the city medical examiner's office said Neely's cause of death was determined to be asphyxia due to neck compression. A toxicology report also showed there were drugs in his system, but she could broadly identify them as “synthetic cannabinoids” but could not specify specific terms or doses. said.
“We found synthetic cannabinoids in the blood, which are relatively new drugs in the drug program,” she said. “They are synthetic and more powerful than marijuana. In drug class, they fall into the category of stimulants. They excite the body and are in the same class of drugs as, for example, cocaine.”
There was no damage to his jaw, neck or midline structures, she said. She found scrapes and bruises on his face, neck, torso, and arms, petechiae (small red spots from bleeding) in his eyes, and damage to his spleen due to sickle cell trait.
Daniel Penny trial resumes; fellow marine veterinarian explains chokehold training on witness stand
Daniel Penny arrives at the Manhattan Criminal Courts building for his trial on Friday, November 15, 2024, in New York City. Penny, a retired Marine, is charged with second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the 2023 death of Jordan Neely. New York City subway train. (Adam Gray, Fox News Digital)
The prosecutor again played the video of the chokehold, and Dr. Harris commented as he experienced it.
At one point, she said he was conversing with signs of “air moving through his vocal cords.” She described Neely gasping for breath and making hand gestures, which she said was a signal for help.
Assistant District Attorney Dafna Yoran asked about witnesses who testified that Neely was not gagged, gasping for air or unable to breathe.
“Sometimes people make noises when they can't breathe, and sometimes they don't,” she answered.
Dr. Cynthia Harris attends the trial of Daniel Penny at the Manhattan Criminal Court Building on Friday, November 15, 2024 in New York City. Penny, a Marine Corps veteran, is charged with second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the 2023 death of Daniel Penny. Jordan Neely rides the New York City subway. (Adam Gray, Fox News Digital)
He also said he believed Neely died around 2 minutes and 9 seconds into the video, after his face turned purple and he began to “convulse” in the throes of death.
“I think he's unconscious at this point. What we see as these convulsions is indicative of brain damage,” she said.
Witnesses said Penny, 26, was charged with the death of Neely, a 30-year-old homeless man with a long criminal history and history of mental illness, who stormed the train and began making death threats on May 1, 2023. is currently on trial. .
As he lunged at people, fists raised and screaming that he was facing a life sentence, Penny grabbed him in a headlock and tackled him to the ground. Other riders helped subdue him while they waited for police to arrive. Neely passed away.
Dr. Harris' testimony began Thursday, with Joseph Cavaler, the Marine Corps martial arts instructor who taught Penny the chokehold, telling jurors that the point of the exercise was to control the threat until they lost consciousness. It started after I said that.
Cavaler explained the difference between a blood choke and an air choke, a move that alternately deprives an attacker of blood flow to and from the brain. Dr. Harris explained what he saw on the video Friday.
Joseph Cavaler appears in Manhattan Supreme Court on Thursday, November 14, 2024, in New York City. The 30-year-old former Marine testified at the trial of Daniel Penny, who was strangled to death by Jordan Neely on a New York City subway in May 2023. . (Adam Gray, Fox News Digital)
“If you're just compressing the veins and not applying enough force to compress the arteries, you'll see some changes when you do that,” she says. “They become congested and turn purple. The veins swell as they fill with blood. Continued pressure causes pooling of blood or petechiae in the capillaries.”
She asked the ADA to stop the video and said she could see the veins in Neely's face dilate and his face appear a much darker purple than the skin on his arm.
Daniel Penny thought he was protecting a diverse subway car, but prosecutors emphasize racial background
A protester holds up a Michael Jackson-style jacket on behalf of Jordan Neely at the Manhattan Criminal Court Building on Friday, November 15, 2024 in New York City. Veteran Marine Daniel Penny will be charged with second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the 2023 death of Neely on the New York City subway. Neely was a former Jackson impersonator. (Adam Gray, Fox News Digital)
Neely still had a pulse after Penny let go, but Dr. Harris said that's not unusual.
“This is suffocation,” she said. “In suffocation, the brain dies first. The brain is deprived of oxygen. Other tissues and organs in the body are not as sensitive as the brain. They die too, but the brain dies first.”
Dr. Harris returned Friday morning and picked up where he left off when court adjourned the previous day.
Prosecutors were expected to halt the case following her testimony. Penny's defense team plans to call their first witness on Monday.
On Tuesday, a man who appeared on video helping Penny subdue Neely testified.
Eric Gonzalez, who was granted immunity from prosecution in exchange for his testimony, said in court that at one point Penny didn't hug Neely tightly enough and that he felt a pulse when they finally let go. , and said that Penny didn't hug Neely tightly enough. At first, he lied to investigators.
This undated photo on Friday, May 12, 2023, provided by Mills & Edwards LLP in New York, shows Jordan Neely (left) with his aunt Carolyn Neely. (Courtesy of Mills & Edwards, LLP, via AP)
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Penny could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted of the more serious charge of manslaughter.
He is also charged with negligent homicide.
