The New York medical examiner who performed Jordan Neely’s autopsy testified that she determined Neely died from asphyxiation after viewing viral videos of him in a chokehold.
Dr. Cynthia Harris was the last witness called by the prosecution on Friday, CBS News reported. She testified that, even though Neely had a pulse when police arrived, he still died from Daniel Penny’s chokehold.
“This is an asphyxial death. So, in asphyxial death, for lack of a better way of putting it, the brain dies first,” she testified, according to The Washington Times.
Penny, a 26-year-old Marine veteran, faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of manslaughter or up to 4 years if he’s convicted on the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide in Neely’s death.
Penny’s defense attorneys questioned Harris why Neely’s death certificate originally listed the cause of death as pending further study. Harris said this was due to a misunderstanding from a police report that said Neely had been screaming while police were present. But, after viewing video of Penny restraining Neely in a chokehold and appearing unresponsive, Harris made her determination about the cause of death – without waiting for the toxicology report.
Harris told the defense that even if Neely had enough fentanyl in his system to take out an elephant, she still would have ruled that he died from asphyxiation. The defense, however, was able to get her to agree that medical examiners can disagree on the cause of death and that it’s not a perfect science.
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She also testified on cross-examination that Neely’s toxicology report showed he had multiple drugs in his system, including “a synthetic cannabinoid.”
“We found in the blood a synthetic cannabinoid – a relatively new drug in the scheme of drugs,” she testified, according to Fox News. “They’re synthetic and more potent than marijuana. In a class of drugs, they fall under the category of stimulants – they rev the body up, fall into the same class of drugs as, say, cocaine.”
She also testified that there was no damage to the bones in Neely’s chin or neck but that she did find scrapes and bruises on him and small red spots caused by bleeding in his eyes, as well as damage to his spleen caused by his sickle cell trait.
Multiple witnesses have testified that they were afraid of Neely, who entered the subway train car and allegedly began ranting that someone was going to die and he didn’t care if he went back to jail. These witnesses have said they feared for their lives, with some even thanking Penny for stepping in, The Daily Wire reported.
The prosecution is expected to rest its case on Monday. The defense will then begin presenting its case.
