Daniel Penny trial jury deliberates in chokehold death of Jordan Neely
ABC
(NEW YORK) — The jury has requested to receive two readbacks and several pieces of footage as they continue to deliberate in the subway chokehold death trial of Daniel Penny.
Little more than an hour into deliberations on Tuesday, the jury asked for a readback of a portion of the judge’s instructions on the law. The jury is interested in the part about justified use of force.
They also asked for several pieces of video on Wednesday, including police body camera footage, Penny’s interrogation video, and a bystander’s video.
The jury also asked for a readback of the cross-examination of the city medical examiner who concluded that Penny’s chokehold killed Neely.
The medical examiner, the final witness for the prosecution, found that Neely died from compression to the neck and never wavered from her view under intense cross-examination.
The defense countered her conclusion, suggesting public sentiment about the case had influenced her findings and that Neely died of other factors.
The jury — comprised of seven women and five men — is considering whether to convict Penny of manslaughter and negligent homicide in the death of Jordan Neely, a 30-year-old homeless man, on a New York City subway train.
To convict, prosecutors have told the jury that Penny’s use of lethal force must be considered unjustifiable and that Penny acted recklessly and consciously disregarded the substantial risk of putting Neely in the chokehold for so long. Defense attorneys told the jury that Penny was only trying to protect subway passengers.
Defense attorneys also said that Penny never intended to kill Neely, while prosecutors said they do not have to prove Penny intended to kill Neely to have the jury hand down a guilty verdict.
Read the key takeaways presented to the jury during the weekslong trial here.
(Washington City, UT) — Human remains that had been decomposing “for an extended period of time” have been discovered just off of a public hiking trail in Utah, police said.
The Washington City Police Department announced the discovery of human remains near the Bone Wash Trail and Elephant Arch hiking area in Washington City in southern Utah — some 125 miles northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada — according to a statement released by the authorities on Tuesday.
“On January 12, 2025, a hiker reported what appeared to be human remains near the Elephant Arch hike,” the Washington City Police Department said in their press release. “Officers from Washington City Police and Deputies from Washington County Sheriff’s Office responded promptly to the scene and confirmed the presence of human remains in various forms of decomposition, indicating they had been there for an extended period of time.”
Detectives immediately began processing the area and were able to identify the remains as belonging to a man, police said.
“The remains have been transported to the Medical Examiner’s office for a thorough investigation to determine the cause of death,” authorities said. “At this time, foul play does not appear to be a factor.”
The identity of the deceased man was subsequently confirmed by authorities and his family was notified of his death, though he has yet to be publicly identified.
“Out of respect for the family, the identity will not be disclosed at this time,” police said. “The case remains active pending the completion of all reports, including finds from the Medical Examiner’s office.”
Officials did not say how they were able to identify the remains or when they plan on disclosing more information on the case.
“We extend our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of the deceased,” authorities said. “We also express our sincere gratitude to the various agencies that have assisted in the investigation.”
(NEW YORK) — Daniel Penny has been found not guilty of criminally negligent homicide for the death of Jordan Neely by the jury on Monday.
The jury deliberated for more than 24 hours across five days before reaching the verdict.
The courtroom broke out in a mix of cheers and jeers as soon as the verdict was read.
Jordan Neely’s father cursed in anger shortly after the verdict and was forcibly removed from the courtroom by a court officer. Others in the gallery shouted, and one woman broke down to tears.
“It’s a small world, buddy,” one man shouted.
“No justice in this racist f—— country,” said another.
Penny, walking out of the courtroom, flashed a brief smile before returning to his stone-faced demeanor. His lawyers embraced one another while seated at counsel table.
The jury in the Penny trial continued deliberations Monday over whether he committed criminally negligent homicide when he placed Neely in a chokehold on a subway car last year, after the jury was deadlocked on the more serious charge of manslaughter last week.
At the request of prosecutors on Friday, Judge Maxwell Wiley dismissed the second-degree manslaughter charge – which carried a maximum 15-year sentence – and directed the jury to turn to the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide, which has a four-year maximum sentence. Neither crime has a minimum sentence. Penny pleaded not guilty to both charges.
“What that means is you are now free to consider count two. Whether that makes any difference or not, I have no idea,” Wiley said before sending the jury home for the weekend.
Prosecutors allege that Penny killed Neely, a 30-year-old homeless man who had previously been a Michael Jackson impersonator, when he placed him in a six-minute-long chokehold on a subway car in May 2023, holding Neely for at least 51 seconds after his body went limp. Assistant district attorney Dafna Yoran argued Penny knew his actions could kill Neely but continued to hold him in a chokehold for “way too long” and “didn’t recognize his humanity.”
The city’s medical examiner concluded Penny’s chokehold killed Neely. The defense argued Neely died from a genetic condition and the synthetic marijuana found in his system.
Defense attorney Steven Raiser told jurors that Penny “acted to save” subway passengers from a “violent and desperate” Neely, who was acting erratically and “scared the living daylights out of everybody.” Raiser argued that Neely was fighting back, and Penny continued to hold on because he feared he would break free, though he didn’t intend to kill Neely.
Wiley denied a new motion for a mistrial made Monday morning by Penny’s defense lawyers, who argued that the dismissal of the manslaughter charge would influence the jury’s verdict.
“There is no way to cure the legal error that we believe very strongly happened on Friday, and we are renewing our motion for a mistrial on the remaining count two,” said Thomas Kenniff, who said the dismissal could result in a “coercive verdict.”
Wiley disagreed, promptly denying the motion like he did on Friday when the defense unsuccessfully argued twice for a mistrial.
To prevent the possibility of influencing the jury, Wiley proposed issuing a new instruction to the jury explicitly stating that the court is “not directing you to any particular verdict.”
Wiley also offered to give the jury an instruction to ignore chants from protesters outside the courthouse – including “Justice for Jordan Neely,” “Daniel Penny subway stranger” and “If we don’t get no justice, they don’t get no peace” – which the defense team declined because it might bring more attention to the chants.
For now, the chants have quieted down, and they are no longer audible in court. If they resume, Judge Wiley said he would consider delivering an instruction or moving the jury to another deliberation room.
Last week, the jury spent more than 23 hours across four days deliberating whether Penny, a 26-year-old former Marine and architecture student, committed second degree manslaughter before repeatedly signaling that they could not reach a unanimous verdict.
Wiley ultimately granted prosecutors’ request to dismiss the first count while Penny’s defense attorneys unsuccessfully pushed for a mistrial, arguing that continued deliberations could lead to a “coercive or a compromised verdict” by “elbowing” jurors to convict on the lesser charge.
Manslaughter would have required proving that Penny acted recklessly and grossly deviated from how a reasonable person would behave, while proving criminally negligent homicide requires the jury to be convinced that Penny engaged in “blameworthy conduct” that he did not consider would lead to the risk of death.
Outside court, protesters and counter protesters have assembled, with “say his name” chants slightly audible in the 13th floor courtroom. As Penny entered the courthouse this morning, he was met with competing chants of “murderer” and “not guilty.”
(LOS ANGELES) — The multiple wildfires raging in California are being described by eyewitnesses as “apocalyptic.” While the cost in human suffering is immeasurable, it may take weeks or longer for the true economic toll to be realized.
AccuWeather estimated $52 billion to $57 billion in damage as of Wednesday afternoon, but state officials warned that the number is expected to rise as the unprecedented fires put thousands more homes at risk.
The five wildfires tearing through the County of Los Angeles hit many California homeowners who were already struggling to find a company willing to insure their properties. At least 10 major insurers have either left or reduced coverage in California in the past four years. During that time, the number of homeowners signing up for the state’s insurer of last resort has doubled, officials said.
In the past two years, insurers including Allstate, American National, The Hartford and State Farm stopped issuing new fire policies for California homeowners. In some instances, residents said, the insurers would not renew existing policies because of the ongoing risk of damage from wildfires.
“The scenes from the area are heartbreaking, and our thoughts are on the individuals and communities impacted, as well as those that remain under threat,” State Farm said in a statement to ABC News. “We want our customers to know that, when it is safe to do so, they can and should file a claim. Agents can also help and, if needed, give customers more time to pay their premium. Our teams are standing by to assist.”
Allstate stopped issuing new homeowner policies in the state in 2022 and said last year that it would reverse its decision if it was allowed to account for the costs of reinsurance when setting rates.
The Hartford stopped writing new homeowners policies in the state on Feb. 1, 2024. American National stopped offering policies in the state on Feb. 29, 2024. Those companies did not respond to ABC News’ request for comment on the fires or on coverage going forward.
Just days before the first wildfire broke out Tuesday in LA’s affluent Pacific Palisades neighborhood, the California Department of Insurance unveiled new regulations that would soon require insurers to increase home coverage in areas prone to wildfires. The policy would not be retroactive and would only apply to new policies going forward.
Part of a home insurance reform package, the regulations will also allow insurers to charge homeowners higher premiums to protect themselves from catastrophic wildfire claims, the documents said. It will be the first time in the state’s history that insurers can include the cost of reinsurance in their premiums, though it is a common practice in other states.
Critics of the rule say it could hike insurance premiums by 40% and doesn’t require new policies to be written at a fast enough pace.
The new rules are set to take effect at the end of January following a 30-day review period; but for many Californians, that regulation will come too late.
One example is the Levin family.
The fast-moving wildfires threatened Lynn Levin Guzman’s childhood home in Eaton, California. The 62-year-old emergency room nurse said, in a post on TikTok, that she snuck back to an evacuation zone to attempt to protect the home by spraying it with water from a hose because her parents’ fire insurance was cancelled.
“They’re 90 years old. They’ve lived in this house for 75 years, and they’ve had the same insurance,” Guzman told ABC7 Eyewitness news, “and the insurance people decided to cancel their fire insurance.”
“So, thank you California insurance companies for supporting residents who pay taxes and love California,” she said.
“And they wonder why people are leaving California,” she added.
An apparent lack of viable insurance options has a growing number of California homeowners flocking to the FAIR Plan, the state’s insurer of last resort. Meant to be a stopgap rather than a permanent replacement, it does not offer comprehensive policies. According to state officials, the number of policies under the FAIR Plan has more than doubled from 2020 to 2024 to 452,000.
President-elect Donald Trump called out the insurance industry on Truth Social on Wednesday, posting, “The fires in Los Angeles may go down, in dollar amount, as the worst in the History of our Country. In many circles, they’re doubting whether insurance companies will even have enough money to pay for this catastrophe.”
President Joe Biden also on Wednesday approved a major disaster declaration for California, making federal funds available for those who’ve lost property. That assistance includes low-cost loans to cover some uninsured property losses, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The FAIR Plan predicts that it will be able to pay out.
“We are aware of misinformation being posted online regarding the FAIR Plan’s ability to pay claims,” FAIR Plan spokesperson Hilary McLean said in a statement.
“It is too early to provide loss estimates as claims are just beginning to be submitted and processed,” McLean wrote, noting that the plan is prepared for this kind of a disaster and has payment mechanisms, including reinsurance, to cover claims.
State officials say they are considering passing a temporary year-long moratorium on non-renewals in areas recently burned.
Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said in a statement, “Insurance companies are pledging their commitment to California, and we will hold them accountable for the promises they have made.”
