NEW YORK (AP) – For about six minutes, Jordan Neely was pinned under the subway in a chokehold that ended while he slept. But that’s not what killed him, a forensic pathologist testified Thursday in the defense of a military-trained driver accused of killing Neely.
Dr. Satish Chundru disputed the New York City medical examiner’s determination that Daniel Penny’s invitation killed Neely, who was acting recklessly on the subway with two men who were riding. Penny’s defense claims that she acted to protect the terrified passengers and was only trying to control Neely, not kill her.
What the white Marines did to Neely, who was Black, homeless and mentally ill, has become a flashpoint in the nation’s divide over race, urban life and the line between self-defense and vigilantism.
Penny’s attorneys argued throughout the trial that her pressure on Neely’s neck was insufficient and consistent enough to be fatal. The lawyers brought Chundru to the witness stand to clarify their case.
He told jurors that Neely’s medical records and eyewitness video showed no signs of known types of fatal homicide.
Among the discrepancies, he said: the location and extent of the bruises on Neely’s neck, and a few petechiae – small red spots caused by bleeding from the ground – on his eyes.
“In your opinion, did Mr. Penny strangle Mr. Neely to death?” defense attorney Steven Raiser asked.
“No,” answered Chundru, who has worked as a medical examiner for state governments in Florida and Texas.
He said that Neely died of “combined” synthetic marijuana, schizophrenia, his aggression and self-control, and a blood condition that can lead to fatal complications during the trial.
“Choking did not cause death,” the pathologist said.
Prosecutor Dafna Yoran later tried to show that some parts of Chundru’s testimony, including about petechiae, came from other medical books and even his opinion in other cases. He replied that the comparison did not compare.
His testimony was very different from what Dr. Cynthia Harris, the city medical examiner who examined Neely’s body.
He told jurors earlier in the trial that Neely suffered “mental death” from suffocation. He called it “unlikely” that Neely’s death was caused by marijuana use and sickle cell disease, which is related but not the same as sickle cell disease.
In the medical examiner’s office, “the consensus was unanimous” that Neely died of strangulation, Harris said, adding: “There are no other reasonable explanations.”
A Marine Corps instructor who trained Penny testified earlier that the soldier did not use proper shaking when he restrained Neely.
Penny, 26, has pleaded not guilty to murder and reckless homicide. His defense says the Marine and construction student was defending himself and the car was full of passengers on the ground.
Neely, 30, sometimes entertained subway riders as a Michael Jackson impersonator. But he also had a history of mental and drug problems and a criminal record that included assaulting a woman on a subway station.
When they crossed the street in a subway car on May 1, 2023, Neely was begging for money, yelling about dying or going to jail, and pacing suddenly, according to witnesses. Penny’s attorneys said Neely walked up to a woman with a young child and said, “I’m going to kill.”
Penny put her hand around Neely’s neck, took her down and held Neely there, with Penny’s legs around her, for close to six minutes, bystander videos show. Neely had stopped moving within the last minute.
Penny’s lawyers said she continued to hold on, while encouraging bystanders to call the police, because Neely had tried to give birth before.
Prosecutors deny that he used excessive force for too long.
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Associated Press writer Jake Offenhartz also contributed.