(Photo by Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
This story was initially published at 9:53 a.m. ET on May 12, 2023, updated with new information at 2:05 p.m. ET. Read the initial report below.
Daniel Penny, 24, arrived at the 5th Precinct in Downtown Manhattan shortly after 8 a.m.–11 days after he strangled Neely to death on an F train on May 1. The entire incident was captured on video.
Last week, the medical examiner ruled Neely’s death a homicide by way of neck compression, as reported by The Shade Room.
Penny was charged with second-degree manslaughter after initially being questioned and released by police on the day of Neely’s death. His arrest comes less than a day after the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office announced it would be pursuing charges against him, according to the New York Post.
Meanwhile, Penny’s lawyer Thomas Kenniff claimed his client surrendered “voluntarily” and with “dignity” and repeatedly invoked his military service.
“This morning, Daniel Penny surrendered at the 5th Precinct at the request of the New York County District Attorney’s Office. He did so voluntarily and with the sort of dignity and integrity that is characteristic of his history of service to this grateful nation,” Kenniff told reporters outside the precinct Friday morning.
Kenniff, who expects Penny to be arraigned sometime Friday afternoon, refused to answer any questions from the press, the Post reports.
Penny now faces upwards of 15 years in prison should he be convicted and/or found guilty. His arrest comes amidst ongoing tension within the city following the death of Neely.
Manhattan prosecutors faced extreme pressure to charge Penny, with protests calling for the ex-Marine’s arrest. Neely, a former street performer/Michael Jackson impersonator, had struggled with mental health issues for most of his life.
On Thursday, Penny’s lawyers said they were confident their client would be cleared of wrongdoing.
They have maintained that Penny only intervened to protect himself and other passengers and never meant to hurt Neely. However, Neely’s family wants Penny to be charged with murder instead of manslaughter.
The Neely family and their attorneys held a brief press conference at 11 a.m. Friday, courtesy of CBS News. There, the family claims he never attacked Penny or anyone else on the train, for that matter.
“Ask how you can help, don’t attack don’t choke, just because someone is in a bad place. No one said ‘here you go sir,’ (Penny) acted with indifference, that’s not who we are or who we want to be,” one of the Neely’s family attorneys said.
Neely had been previously arrested 44 times for assaults, attempted child abduction, drugs, and indecent exposure, ABC 7 reports. Officials said he also had at least 43 cases of an “aided case,” where mental healthcare workers took him in for treatment.
