Who is Daniel Penny? Ex-Marine who fatally choked Jordan Neely says he 'never intended to harm'
MANHATTAN, NEW YORK CITY: Daniel James Penny has been identified as the ex-US Marine who choked Jordan Neely to death in a New York City subway car. The 24-year-old's attorneys have claimed that Penny was only attempting to defend himself and other commuters, and never had any malice in his heart.
The New York medical examiner's office determined that Neely's death was a homicide because of compression to his neck. Witnesses and video evidence showed a man, identified as Penny, holding Neely by the arm for several minutes before the 30-year-old's eyes close and his body becomes limp. New York City Police Department officers attempted CPR when they arrived on the F train at the Broadway-Lafayette platform in Manhattan on Monday, May 1, according to the Independent. Neely was pronounced dead at the Lenox Health Greenwich Village hospital.
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Who is Daniel James Penny?
A district representative shared on Friday, May 5, that Penny graduated from West Islip High School on Long Island, New York, in 2016, according to NBC. Penny served in the Marines between June 2017 and June 2021 in the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines and 2nd Marine Division. His final service assignment was at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, where he attained the rank of sergeant.
In 2021, Penny withdrew from the Marines. In a posting on a job board for the service sector, he said that his military duty had shown him how "passionate" he was about "helping, communicating, and connecting to different people from all over the world," according to Independent.
Penny reportedly attended college after leaving the military but dropped out because he felt "completely unfulfilled" and instead backpacked throughout Central America, according to NBC. He received five medals, including the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, the Humanitarian Service Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, in addition to two Sea Service Deployment Ribbons.
Penny appears to have a profile on the hiking website All Trails, which documents his travels across trails in North Carolina, Hawaii, New England and Honduras. His profile stated that he was seeking a bartending position in Manhattan, according to NBC.
'Daniel never intended to harm Mr Neely'
On Friday, Penny's attorneys alleged that Neely "began aggressively threatening Daniel Penny and the other passengers," at which point, "Daniel, with the help of others, acted to protect themselves, until help arrived," according to Independent.
"Daniel never intended to harm Mr Neely and could not have foreseen his untimely death. For too long, those suffering from mental illness have been treated with indifference. We hope that out of this awful tragedy will come a new commitment by our elected officials to address the mental health crisis on our streets and subways," his attorneys concluded.