NEW YORK — The forensic psychiatrist whom Manhattan prosecutors tried to suppress from testifying in Daniel Penny's subway strangulation trial said on the witness stand Tuesday that Jordan Neely had a psychotic episode and was using synthetic marijuana before her death. It was revealed that he had been hospitalized over a dozen times due to abuse. Manhattan train.
Dr. Alexander “Sasha” Vardy, a defense expert who has reviewed thousands of pages of Neely's medical records, said his deteriorating mental health was linked to rapper Tupac Shakur's decision to set himself up to “change the world.” These included delusions that he was being exploited and that he heard “the voice of the devil.” The record dates back to 2015.
Penny, a 26-year-old Marine Corps veteran and architecture student, is facing charges of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in connection with the death of 30-year-old Neely last May.
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Daniel Penny walks down the hallway of Manhattan Supreme Court on November 19, 2024. (Rashid Umar Abbasi, Fox News Digital)
Mr. Birdy, a professor at New York University and New York Medical College and an expert witness for the defense, previously worked at Rikers Island before being strangled by Mr. Penny when Mr. Neely began making death threats in prison. It was the same prison where Mr. Neely cried out to go home. Manhattan subway car.
Prosecutors unsuccessfully tried to block Mr. Neely's testimony and withhold evidence of Mr. Neely's mental illness and substance abuse from the jury.
Neely had a documented history of paranoid schizophrenia, Birdy testified after reviewing thousands of pages of the man's medical records.
The disorder affects less than 1% of the population and can lead to hallucinations, delusions and false beliefs that are impossible for those affected to shake, Birdy said. He testified that he has treated hundreds of schizophrenic patients and found Neely's case to be one of the worst.
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Jordan Neely photographed in 2009. (Andrew Sabrich/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
“His symptoms…I would classify as severe,” he testified. “He talked about paranoid fears that people were going to hurt him, grand delusions that people were jealous of him, and that he was told by Tupac to change the world and that's what he did. That's what he said.”
He said Neely brought Tupac's claims to hospital staff at least twice. In one instance, “when I asked for more details, people rambled on about changing their hair color and giving away free food.”
Medical records reviewed by Birdie also revealed that Neely was hearing “devil voices.”
He said Mr Neely was illogical and disorganized and described his behavior as “aggressive”. [and] That's strange. ”
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According to Birdy, schizophrenic patients cannot tell the difference between hallucinations and reality. Delusions can be caused by a variety of factors, including drugs, drinks, and food.
Defense witness Dr. Alexander Vardy, a forensic psychiatrist, examined Jordan Neely's schizophrenia and abuse of a synthetic marijuana drug called K2 in Daniel Penny's manslaughter trial on November 19, 2024. testified about. (Jane Rosenberg)
People with paranoid schizophrenia can be more dangerous to themselves and others, and don't think clearly or respond with reasoning, he added.
Synthetic marijuana use can have serious effects, especially if Neely was not taking antipsychotic medication, a toxicology report found in Neely's body after his death testified.
Mr. Birdy's testimony followed that of Mr. Penny's mother, two Marines who served together overseas, and other character witnesses who described Mr. Penny as honest and empathetic.
Soldiers revealed in court that Penny was awarded the Humanitarian Service Medal for his work in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence in 2018.
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A screenshot of bystander video shows Jordan Neely being strangled on a New York City subway. (Luces de Nueva York/Juan Alberto Vazquez, via Storyful)
After being honorably discharged from the military, Penny returned to his home state to study architecture at the New York City Polytechnic Institute in Brooklyn, working nights at the school's restaurant and taking swimming lessons at a Manhattan gym, said his mother, Gina Frame Penny. It is said that he was teaching.
Witnesses said Neely, a homeless man who is said to be a former Michael Jackson impersonator, barged onto the train, threw his jacket on the ground, began shouting death threats, and had a strap hanger with a message saying, “I'm in prison for life.'' “I don't mind,” he reportedly told her. testimony.
When they let go, Mr. Neely still had a pulse, but Dr. Cynthia Harris, the forensic pathologist who performed his autopsy, said that even if he died of asphyxiation, his heart would continue to beat for some time. He testified that this was normal. She ruled that Neely's death was due to asphyxiation due to strangulation after an autopsy.
Danielle Penny arrives at Manhattan Supreme Court with her mother, Gina Maria Frame-Penny, on November 19, 2024. (Rashid Umar Abbasi, Fox News Digital)
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If Penny is convicted of the highest charge of manslaughter, he could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison. He also faces a lesser charge of manslaughter.
