London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Oct 06, 2025

Ex-Marine charged with New York subway chokehold death of Jordan Neely

Ex-Marine charged with New York subway chokehold death of Jordan Neely

A former US Marine who placed a passenger in a fatal chokehold on the New York subway has appeared in court to be charged with manslaughter.

Daniel Penny, 24, is accused of causing the death of 30-year-old Jordan Neely on 1 May. He did not enter a plea.

His lawyers said he could not have known his actions to subdue Mr Neely would lead to his death.

Mr Neely, who was homeless, was pinned to the ground and restrained for several minutes on the train carriage.

He had been shouting at other passengers and asking for money, witnesses said.

Mr Neely was later found unconscious in the carriage and taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead. His death resulted from compression of the neck, the city's medical examiner ruled.

Hands cuffed behind his back, Mr Penny appeared at Manhattan Criminal Court on Friday to be formally charged and was later released on $100,000 (£80,000) in cash bail.

He must return to court on 17 July or a warrant will be issued for his arrest, the judge said. He must also turn over his passport and seek permission to cross state lines.

On the day Mr Neely died, Mr Penny was questioned by police and then released.

But footage of the altercation on a northbound F train set off protests, and the Manhattan district attorney's office launched an investigation.

The video, captured by a freelance journalist on the train, shows the former Marine holding Mr Neely around the neck for two minutes and 55 seconds.

The journalist who filmed it, Juan Alberto Vazquez, told the New York Times that Mr Neely had shouted at passengers but did not attack anyone.

He recalled Mr Neely saying "I don't mind going to jail and getting life in prison" before he was restrained.

Jordan Neely in New York


On Friday morning, Mr Penny arrived in a black SUV at a police station in Manhattan to surrender to authorities. Wearing a black suit and white shirt, he did not speak or answer any questions from reporters gathered outside.

His lawyer, Thomas Kenniff, said his client has "his head held up high" and had willingly surrendered "with the sort of dignity and integrity that is characteristic of his history of service to this grateful nation".

Mr Penny "risked his own life and safety, for the good of his fellow passengers", Mr Kenniff added, expressing confidence he would be "fully absolved of any wrongdoing".

He faces a count of second-degree manslaughter and up to 15 years in jail if convicted.

According to New York law, that charge will require a jury to find that Mr Penny engaged in reckless conduct that created an unjustifiable risk of death.

"The investigation thus far has included numerous witness interviews, careful review of photo and video footage, and discussions with the Medical Examiner's Office," said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in a statement.

"As this case proceeds, we will be constrained from speaking outside the courtroom to ensure this remains a fair and impartial matter,"

New York defence attorney Jeffrey Lichtman told the BBC he thought prosecutors would fail meet this standard, and show Mr Penny knew his actions would kill.

"If litigated properly this is a slam dunk acquittal," he said, calling Mr Penny a "sympathetic defendant".

Video of the subway altercation sparked protests


In a statement released a few days after Mr Neely's death, Mr Penny's lawyers said their client had "never intended to harm Mr Neely and could not have foreseen his untimely death".

Mr Penny spent four years in the Marines, rising to the rank of sergeant before being honourably discharged in June 2021, according to his lawyers. He is now enrolled in a full-time bachelor's college degree studying architecture.

Across the street from the court, a small memorial dedicated to Mr Neely has been assembled with signs urging officials to prosecute Mr Penny.

In a statement earlier this week, Mr Neely's family said that Mr Penny needed to be in prison. "The family wants you to know that Jordan matters," they said.

Mr Neely was a Michael Jackson impersonator who frequently performed in Times Square. "He sang, he danced, he entertained," a lawyer for the family said.

His mother, Christie Neely, was murdered in 2007 by her boyfriend, who was sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2012, according to the Jersey Journal.

Following his mother's death, Mr Neely began experiencing mental health issues, said Donte Mills, a lawyer for the Neely family.

"He had demons. He went through tragedy at a very young age," Mr Mills said. "And then his mother was taken from him and her body was dumped in a suitcase on a highway, and it changed Jordan's mentality forever."

Mr Neely had 42 arrests on charges such as evading fares, theft and assaults on three women, according to US media reports. He had recently pleaded guilty to assaulting a 67-year-old woman leaving a subway station in 2021.

Mr Mills addressed the arrests on Friday, saying that Mr Penny "did not know Jordan Neely before this incident. He did not know how many times he had been arrested."

"So that's a non-factor," he added.

Mayor Eric Adams has said the case highlights the need to improve the mental health system so that it can better protect people like Mr Neely.

Mr Adams and New York state Governor Kathy Hochul have increased the presence of police to address rising crime on the city's subway.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
×