NEW YORK — Jurors considering the fate of 26-year-old Marine veteran Daniel Penny asked a judge Wednesday to take another look at three key pieces of evidence in his manslaughter trial.
Penny is accused of recklessly and negligently killing Jordan Neely, 30, a homeless man with schizophrenia. Jordan Neely was high on drugs and yelled death threats at subway passengers, saying, “Someone's going to die today,” then telling them he wasn't going to die. Worry about going to prison for the rest of your life. Penny grabbed him from behind in a chokehold to stop the explosion.
Mr. Neely had an active arrest warrant at the time of his death. He was high on K2, a synthetic marijuana drug that acts as a stimulant, and had a long criminal history, including assaulting a 67-year-old woman at another subway station in 2021.
Here's a look at the evidence the jury asked to see again.
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Daniel Penny arrives at Manhattan Supreme Court on December 3, 2024 in New York. (Rashid Umar Abbasi, Fox News Digital)
Daniel Penny's NYPD interrogation
People's Exhibit 36A: After remaining at the scene of the incident, Daniel Penny waived his Miranda rights and met with the NYPD. Detectives Michael Medina and Brian McCarthy interviewed him for about 25 minutes at the Fifth Precinct building in Manhattan.
They did not inform him that Neely had died.
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“He was talking gibberish…but they're shoving people in front of trains and stuff,” he told detectives. In the year before Penny met Neely, there were more than 20 subway crashes.
Penny did not testify at trial, so his cross-examination was the only direct comment shown to the jury in court.
“A guy came in, he kind of took off his jacket, and he said, 'I'm going to kill everyone. I'm going to go to jail forever. I don't care,'” Penny said. said.
He said he looked at the person next to him and asked the person to grab his cell phone. He took out his earphones. He then grabs Neely from behind and puts him in a headlock.
“It felt like I grabbed him from behind,” he said.
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Daniel Penny departs Manhattan Criminal Court after the second day of jury deliberations on Wednesday, December 4, 2024. (Fox News)
“Hmm,” interjected one of the detectives.
“Because he was acting like a madman, like a crazy person,” Penny continued. “So he was rolling around on the floor. And at that point the train stopped. I thought, 'Someone call the police,' but he's still rolling around, still going crazy.” There were two other guys.'' Help him not go crazy, and yeah, that's when you guys came. ”
The interrogation video was submitted as evidence on November 14th.
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Vasquez video
Screenshot of bystander video showing Jordan Neely being strangled on the New York City subway. (Luces de Nueva York/Juan Alberto Vazquez, via Storyful)
People Exhibit 12: Photographed by journalist Juan Alberto Vazquez, who was on the train during the incident. This is the full video he shot that day and includes images that have been in public circulation since May 2023.
Jurors saw the video played repeatedly during expert testimony. It shows Neely and Penny sitting on the floor of the vehicle and another man named Eric Gonzalez pinning Neely's arm down during the scuffle.
Screenshot of bystander video showing Jordan Neely being strangled on the New York City subway. (Luces de Nueva York/Juan Alberto Vazquez, via Storyful)
Evidence was submitted on November 4th.
NYPD body camera compilation
People Exhibit 34: Shows the perspective of several police officers, including the first one to arrive.
“He was threatening everyone who approached the train,” Penny said, adding that she didn't know if Neely had a weapon, but that he strangled her.
WATCH: NYPD body camera shows Daniel Penny strangling Jordan Neely on subway train
Officers tried to resuscitate Neely and said he had a pulse but was not breathing.
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The officers tell Penny they want to talk to her at the precinct. Before they left, he again briefly explained what had happened.
“He came in dropping everything and was very aggressive and was like, 'I'm ready to die. I'm going to go to prison forever,'” he said. “I'm starting to go crazy.”
Jordan Neely is pictured outside the Regal Cinemas on 8th Avenue and 42nd Street in New York's Times Square in 2009 before going to see the Michael Jackson movie “This Is It.” (Andrew Sabrich/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Evidence was submitted on November 12th.
Jurors also asked them to reread the judge's instructions regarding “justification,” asking whether Penny's use of force was legally justified given the threat Neely posed.
The jury also asked forensic pathologist Dr. Cynthia Harris to testify during cross-examination on Nov. 15, when she answered the defense about issuing a second death certificate, even though tests showed the presence of fentanyl. He said he would not have changed his mind even if shown. .
They asked to hear all of her testimony, including the part in which she admitted to the grand jury that she didn't know if there was “consistent and sufficient pressure.”
