Daniel Penny: Everything we know about ex-Marine filmed choking Jordan Neely in fatal subway incident
A former US Marine who choked Jordan Neely to death on a New York City subway car has been identified as 24-year-old Daniel James Penny.
Neely’s death was ruled by the New York medical examiner’s office as a homicide due to compression against his neck. Video footage and eyewitness accounts show Penny with his arm wrapped around Neely for several minutes until his eyes shut and body went limp.
New York City Police Department officers attempted CPR upon arrival on the F train at the Broadway-Lafayette platform in Manhattan on 1 May, according to an incident report reviewed by The Independent. Neely was pronounced dead at Lenox Health Greenwich Village hospital.
News outlets confirmed Mr Penny’s identity on 5 May after online sleuths first discovered his name the previous night. Several news outlets, including The New York Post and The New York Daily News, reported attempts to reach him for comment earlier in the week or published details about his military history, but they curiously withheld his name from the public.
Mr Penny initially was described as merely a 24-year-old former US Marine, while Neely’s previous criminal record and family history were widely published across the tabloids and mainstream news outlets.
The New York Post’s initial coverage of Neely’s killing even includes a brief comment from Mr Penny but does not disclose his name. The Daily News coverage also includes his military service history but no mention of his name.
Widely shared video footage captured by journalist Juan Alberto Vazquez shows Mr Penny and two other men holding Neely to the floor of a train car on 1 May, while Mr Penny’s arm is wrapped around Neely’s neck.
Police questioned but did not arrest Mr Penny, and his name was withheld.
Mr Penny has retained legal representation from attorneys with the firm Raiser and Kenniff, whose founding partners were both in the armed services, The Independent has confirmed.
Thomas Kenniff unsuccessfully ran for Manhattan district attorney as a Republican in 2021, ultimately losing to Alvin Bragg, who received more than 82 per cent of the vote.
According to a LinkedIn profile, Mr Penny joined the US Marine Corps in 2017 after graduating from West Islip High School, a hamlet roughly 36 miles outside of Manhattan in Suffolk County.
Public records confirm Mr Penny’s former address at Marine Corps Base Camp LeJeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina.
He left the Marines in 2021. He wrote in a service industry job site that his military experience helped him discover that he is “passionate” about “helping, communicating, and connecting to different people from all over the world.”
The Independent requested comment from Mr Penny’s attorneys and a phone number associated with Mr Penny.
This is a developing story
