Daniel Penny’s sister and childhood friend presented her case to jurors in his murder trial on Monday – describing the former Marine as a “cool and calm” surfing lover who lived a life of integrity in his tight-knit Long Island hometown. Earned a reputation for.
“People always spoke so highly of her,” Alexandra Fay, who grew up on the same block as Penny in beachside West Islip, told Manhattan jurors about her onetime neighbor. Who He is accused of “negligently” strangling homeless man Jordan Neely to death. On a subway train last May.
“He was very kind. If anything, he was extra kind … he was always talking,” Fay said, smiling at Penny, 26, who sat at the defense table in Manhattan Supreme Court.
Penny’s older sister, Jacqueline Penny, also entered the courtroom smiling, describing her brother as a “smart” and “focused” student who played upright bass in his high school orchestra, starred on the lacrosse team and ” Loved to surf.” A hobby.”
“We had the same friends, the same friend groups, hung out with the same people,” testified Jacqueline, who goes by the name “Jackie” and who appeared for the defense after prosecutors with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office rested their case Monday afternoon. Was the first witness called by. ,
She said, “He was always very friendly with my friends and I was also friendly with his friends.”
Daniel Penny also has a reputation in his family as an “honest” and “quiet and peace-loving person”, his sister said.
At the end of her stint on the stand, which lasted only 15 minutes, Jackie Penny was asked by her brother’s defense attorney, Thomas Kenniff, “Don’t you want to see anything bad happen to your brother?”
“Yes,” he replied.
“Is that why you are testifying?” Kenniff continued.
“Yes,” Jackie Penny replied.
Kenniff also asked Penny’s sister and childhood friend if they were surprised that Daniel enlisted to join the Marines after high school.
“A little bit, because he was a very quiet, mild-mannered person,” his sister told jurors, before adding that “it wasn’t entirely surprising,” because “he was always patriotic, and the men in our family served.” Used to do.”
Fay, Penny’s former neighbor in West Islip, described the Suffolk County village as “really a small town where everyone knows each other.”
“We call it the little ‘West Islip bubble,'” she said.
Fay acknowledged during a brief cross-examination that she had contributed to Penny’s legal defense fund, which has raised more than $3 million — but the judge struck out the part of the exchange where prosecutors mentioned the huge sum from the record. Had done.
Penny’s team called its first two defense witnesses after the prosecution rested its case, culminating with three days of tough testimony from city medical examiner Dr. Cynthia Harris, who ruled that Penny had died from strangulation. Neely died.
Penny’s lawyers spent much of Monday trying to poke holes in Harris’s finding, which they said she made after reviewing viral video of the May 1, 2023, fatal encounter, shot by a journalist who took the Manhattan F. Saw the collision on the train.
Near the end of his time on the stand, Penny’s attorney Steven Ryser raised his voice, questioning why Harris determined the cause of Neely’s death before receiving a toxicology report, which found K2 synthetic cannabis in his system. Was.
“Yes, but when someone is shot in the head I have also determined that the cause of their death is that they were shot in the head,” Harris responded.
“I wouldn’t wait for the toxicology results to determine that.”
Harris testified Friday that the video of the encounter so clearly showed that Penny’s strangulation caused Neely’s death, so she would not change her opinion. Even if the homeless man has enough drugs “to kill an elephant”.
Penny has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and manslaughter by criminal negligence, and faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of the top charges.
His lawyers argue that his actions were justified in subduing and controlling Neely, who witnesses said was intimidating and threatening passengers.
Prosecutors allege that Penny held Neely for too long, including more than five minutes after almost all of the straphangers had left the subway car – and for 51 seconds after Neely’s body went limp. Was.
The trial will resume on Tuesday.
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