Witness testimony in the Daniel Penny trial resumed on Thursday after a two-day break.
Penny, a 26-year-old former Marine, is facing charges of second-degree manslaughter and negligent homicide. He is accused of fatally choking 30-year-old Jordan Neely on a New York City subway in 2023. Neely, a well-known Michael Jackson impersonator, boarded the subway and reportedly began threatening people. Penny allegedly approached him from behind and placed him in a chokehold.
Neely was later pronounced dead at a hospital. His death was ruled a homicide by compression of the neck.
The trial began with opening statements on Friday. After the arguments concluded, prosecutors began calling witnesses.
'I Thought I Was Going to Die'
Caedryn Schrunk was on the subway while the deadly incident was happening. She said she was planning to meet a coworker for coffee when she heard Neely threatening his own life and the lives of others.
"He was saying, 'I don't care if I die. Kill me, lock me up, I don't care if I go to jail for life,'" Schrunk said.
She described Neely's rant as "satanic."
"There was a moment where I truly thought I was going to die," Schrunk said.
She said everyone on the train was "frozen" as the outburst went on. She explained that Neely did not lunge at anyone, but she was still "very panicked in that moment."
Schrunk also recalled her reaction to seeing Penny take Neely to the ground.
"In that moment when Mr. Penny took him down, I did have a sense of relief that the threat was gone," Schrunk said.
She said that if Neely had gotten up, "who knows what he would have done."
Schrunk added that it did not appear to her that Penny was hurting Neely or squeezing his neck. She said she did not think the restraint would result in Neely's death.
'I Didn't Like Him'
Johnny Grima said Penny told him to stop pouring water on Neely's forehead after Penny released him from the chokehold.
Grima was riding the subway home after checking on homeless people in Tompkins Square Park. He had just gotten off when he saw Penny releasing his grip on Neely.
"He finally did let him go," Grima said. "Neely fell limply to the ground."
He recalled his impression of Penny.
"I already felt some way about him. I didn't like him," Grima said. "It's something like you know when you have, like an abuser abusing someone and they're not trying to let anyone near the abused?"
Grima explained that he intervened to say that Neely should be put on his side before pouring water on his head in an attempt to wake him up.
"Daniel Penny came and told me to stop when I did that," Grima said.
He said he thought it was "weird" that Penny would not allow him to help Neely.
Body Camera Footage Played in Court
NYPD Officer Isatou Ceesay described a conversation he had with Penny before the body camera footage of the interaction was shown.
After Ceesay asked Penny what happened, Penny said Neely "came on the train, he was throwing s**t. He said he was ready to die, to go to prison for life."
"Yeah, he was just on the ground, he was trying to roll up, I had him pretty good. I was in the Marine Corp," Penny said.
The footage also showed Penny standing over Neely's body while first responders performed CPR.
Defense Calls for a Mistrial
After the jury was dismissed for the day, defense attorney Thomas Kenniff asked New York Supreme Court Justice Maxwell Wiley to declare a mistrial.
Kenniff alleged that prosecutors gave "incendiary" opening statements and allowed witnesses to portray Penny as a "white vigilante."
He referenced how Grima referred to Penny as a "murderer" and how another witness, Moriela Sanchez, called him a "white man."
"There's no longer any way that my client can get anything resembling a fair trial at this point given what has happened over the last few days," Kenniff said.
Wiley denied the motion.
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