A 14-year-old teenager was arrested by the New York police, who suspected him of stabbing an 18-year-old student to death in early December in a park in the Harlem neighborhood, a murder that had caused a stir. The boy had been wanted for several weeks by the police, who arrested him Friday evening without incident, said Saturday, February 15, the head of the NYPD, New York Police, Dermot Shea, at a conference.
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A freshman at the prestigious Barnard University, Tessa Majors was allegedly attacked in Morningside Park by three teenagers who wanted to steal her. In this park that separates the university district from the rest of Harlem, the incident is said to have escalated, one of the attackers stabbing her before fleeing. The young woman died of her injuries in hospital soon after.
Quickly identified as the main suspect, the teen was scheduled to report to authorities in mid-December, but allegedly abruptly got out of the taxi that was taking him to the police station to be heard. «We are confident that the person currently in custody is the one who stabbedTessa Majors said Dermot Shea.
The teenager was charged this Saturday with intentional homicide and theft, then placed in detention at the request of prosecutor Cyrus Vance, who highlighted the risk of flight. He will be presented to a judge on Wednesday, prosecutor Vance said. In this proceeding, the young person will not be considered a minor for criminal purposes, as New York State law permits.
A particularly sensitive matter
Cyrus Vance said the investigation had brought together a series of elements implicating the suspect, including a video recording, testimony and DNA analysis. He also suggested that the suspect incriminated himself during his hearing. A 13-year-old alleged accomplice has been charged but will be tried in juvenile court.
The case is particularly sensitive as it involves a white victim and a minor black suspect. It echoes the famous scandal of “Central Park Five», Which had seen five teenagers from minority backgrounds wrongly convicted of rape in Central Park in 1989 of a white jogger, left for dead in the park.
Prosecutor Vance hinted that this explosive backdrop explained, in part, why the suspect’s indictment took so long. “We are dealing with a 14 year old boy and we will take great care to preserve his rights», Assured Cyrus Vance. “I want New Yorkers to know that we are making a commitment to fairness on this file.»
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