NEW YORK – Jurors have begun their deliberations in the manslaughter trial of Daniel Penny, the 26-year-old Marine veteran accused of recklessly suffocating Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old homeless man who stormed into a Manhattan subway while shouting death threats.
Penny arrived at the Manhattan courthouse Tuesday morning for prosecutors’ final day closing arguments as protesters shout “Guilty!” chanted through a megaphone.
Penny, flanked by his lawyers, fastened his suit jacket and looked straight ahead without acknowledging the protesters or reporters outside the courthouse, video shows.
Inside, Assistant Manhattan District Attorney Dafna Yoran wrapped up her closing arguments shortly before noon, and after a break the judge read the jury instructions.
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Daniel Penny arrives at the Manhattan Supreme Court on Tuesday, December 3, 2024 in New York, NY. Closing arguments are expected to end today in his trial on second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide for the 2023 death of Jordan Neely at a New York airport. City subway. (Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital)
Penny faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted on the top manslaughter charge. He is also charged with negligent homicide.
As Yoran retreated, she addressed the demonstrators outside.
“The defense would have you believe that because of the few protesters outside New York’s chief medical examiner, fraud would take place,” she said. “I could go on and on about how absurd and insulting this all is.”
The defense objected, telling the judge that there was never a massive conspiracy.
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Prosecutor Dafna Yoran leaves Daniel Penny’s trial on Monday, December 2, 2024, at the Manhattan Supreme Criminal Court building in New York City. (Julia Bonavita/Fox News Digital)
At the time of the May 2023 incident, Neely was high on K2, a drug described by witnesses as a form of synthetic marijuana with an effect similar to cocaine. He had a severe case of paranoid schizophrenia, a lengthy criminal history and an active arrest warrant.
He boarded the train, threw his coat on the ground and began making death threats, warning that he was not afraid of dying, going back to prison or spending a lifetime in prison.
Penny grabbed him from behind, wrestled him to the ground and held him down with the help of another passenger. He remained at the scene and voluntarily spoke to police. They let him go. Eleven days later, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office announced charges and Penny turned herself in.
DANIEL PENY RETURNS TO COURT FOR CLOSING ARGUMENTS IN SUBWAY CHOKEHOLD TRIAL
Jordan Neely is pictured before going to see the 2009 Michael Jackson film ‘This is It’ outside the Regal Cinemas on 8th Avenue and 42nd Street in Times Square, New York. (Andrew Savulich/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
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The city medical office ruled his death a homicide by asphyxiation and blamed the chokehold. A defense expert, forensic pathologist Dr. Satish Chundru, of Texas, countered that the cause of death was a combination of Neely’s drug use, a genetic condition known as sickle cell disease, the physical exertion of fighting Penny and his severe mental illness.
Despite the crowd of angry protesters outside, Penny’s defense fund has soared past $3.2 million, with donations still pouring in as of Tuesday morning.
