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Boy, 13, Arrested in Fatal Stabbing of Tessa Majors, Barnard Freshman ‘I’m 13’: Boy Arrested in Killing of Tessa Majors, Barnard Freshman
(about 3 hours later)
The deadly stabbing of an 18-year-old Barnard College student in a park near the Manhattan campus jarred New York City, where residents worried that it was a throwback to an era when violent street crime was far more common. The murder suspect walked into the courtroom on Friday wearing black sweatpants, Air Jordan sneakers and a navy hoodie. He bit his bottom lip nervously as a court officer asked his name, then his age.
Then on Friday came more unsettling news: A 13-year-old boy was arrested and charged in connection with the murder of the student, Tessa Majors. “I’m 13,” he said.
According to law enforcement officials, the boy was part of a group that attempted to rob Ms. Majors around 7 p.m. on Wednesday, as she was walking through Morningside Park in Upper Manhattan. She was killed in a struggle with them. The deadly stabbing of an 18-year-old Barnard College student, Tessa Majors, as she walked in a park near the school’s Manhattan campus has jarred New York City, recalling an era decades ago when violent street crime was far more common.
Investigators do not believe that the boy under arrest, who has not been identified, stabbed her. But after he was taken into custody, he implicated himself in the attack in statements to the police, one law enforcement official said. But also shocking have been revelations about ages of two of the suspects: They are 13 and 14 years old.
His statements led investigators to two other suspects, who are believed to be 14 years old, another official said. “This makes what was already an excruciating tragedy even more painful,” said City Councilman Mark Levine, who represents the neighborhood where Ms. Majors was stabbed. “You now have families on both sides of this horrific crime who are facing devastating loss.”
One of those suspects was detained and interviewed, and it was unclear whether he would be charged, the official said. The other is believed to be the person who stabbed Ms. Majors and is still being sought. Ms. Majors, a first-year college student from Virginia who was interested in journalism and played in a rock band, was walking through Morningside Park in Upper Manhattan on Wednesday night when three teenagers tried to rob her, the police said.
The 13-year-old, who lives in Harlem and is 5 feet 5 inches tall, was charged with second-degree felony murder, robbery and criminal possession of a weapon, the official said. In court on Friday, a detective laid out a chilling account of the struggle that ended with Ms. Majors’s death.
Under New York State law, minors charged with certain violent felonies can be tried as adults, but the official said the boy would be treated as a juvenile and prosecuted in family court. One of her assailants pulled a knife and stabbed her several times. As the group fled, Ms. Majors staggered up a flight of stairs, out of the park and onto the street, where a campus security guard found her.
That is because he is being charged with felony murder, meaning that he is not accused of stabbing the woman but taking part in another crime — in this instance, robbery — during which Ms. Majors was killed. A folding knife with a blade roughly four inches long was found nearby and was being tested for DNA and fingerprints, a law enforcement official said.
The 13-year-old was expected to be arraigned on Friday afternoon, officials said. At Friday’s hearing, Detective Vincent Signoretti testified that the 13-year-old boy, whom The New York Times is not naming because he is not being charged as an adult, told the police that he and two other teenagers had gone to Morningside Park specifically to rob people.
The seemingly random killing of Ms. Majors, a first-year college student from Virginia who was interested in journalism and played in a rock band, rattled university students and other city residents. “They followed a man with the intention of robbing him and decided not to,” Detective Signoretti said.
The trio later spotted Ms. Majors in the park, he said. The boy told Detective Signoretti that he watched his two friends grab the student, put her into a chokehold and remove items from her pockets, the officer testified.
Then, shortly before 7 p.m., the boy watched as his friend slashed the young woman with a knife and feathers from the stuffing of her coat came flying out, the detective testified.
The boy was arrested on trespassing charges on Thursday evening in a building near the park and interviewed by detectives with his uncle present, officials said. His statements led investigators to the other suspects, one law enforcement official said.
One of those suspects, who is 14, was detained and interviewed on Friday, the official said. A second official said that he had a lawyer present when he was interviewed.
The third suspect is believed to be the person who stabbed Ms. Majors and as of Friday evening was still being sought, the first official said.
The 13-year-old, who lives in Harlem and is 5 feet 5 inches tall, has not been formally charged with a crime. A judge ordered he be held until Tuesday, when he is expected to be arraigned on charges of second-degree felony murder, robbery and criminal possession of a weapon.
Rachel Glantz, an attorney for New York City, said at the hearing that the allegations were “the most serious charges that can come before a family court.”
Under New York State law, minors charged with intentional murder can be tried as adults. But the 13-year-old will be prosecuted in family court because he is facing a charge of felony murder, meaning that he is not accused of stabbing the woman but of taking part in robbery during which Ms. Majors was killed.
The boy’s lawyer, Hannah Kaplan with the Legal Aid Society, said the police did not have any evidence beyond the boy’s statement. She added that he had never been arrested before.
“There is no allegation my client touched the complainant in this case,” Ms. Kaplan said. “He was merely present when this took place.”
As the hearing started, the skinny teenager sat at the defense table slightly hunched over as public defenders whispered into his ear. The boy’s aunt and uncle, Shaquoya Carr and Roosevelt Davis, who are his guardians, sat directly behind him. Mr. Davis appeared to wipe away tears as his nephew walked into court.
Reached by phone, another aunt, Sonia Davis, said she did not believe the boy took part in the murder.
“No, I don’t think he did this, not at all,” Ms. Davis said. Of Ms. Major’s killing she said, “I do feel bad for her and the family.”
The seemingly random killing of Ms. Majors in a park of symbolic importance to the community surrounding it, rattling university students and other city residents.
“It’s just crazy,” said Tyrone Singleton, 53, a building superintendent who lives near the park. “It’s sad they took that girl’s life for nothing. I’m ready to get up out of here.”“It’s just crazy,” said Tyrone Singleton, 53, a building superintendent who lives near the park. “It’s sad they took that girl’s life for nothing. I’m ready to get up out of here.”
Ms. Majors was walking in Morningside Park when she was approached by people near West 116th Street and Morningside Drive, said Rodney Harrison, the Police Department’s chief of detectives, on Thursday. Ms. Majors grew up in Charlottesville, Va., and had just moved to New York for her first semester of college. She spent her weekends singing and playing punk rock. She and her band, Patient 0, had just put out their first album in the fall, and they had played their first New York City concert in October.
There was a struggle, and one of the assailants pulled out a knife and stabbed Ms. Majors several times, Chief Harrison said. The attackers then fled, and Ms. Majors staggered up a flight of stairs, out of the park and onto the street, where a campus security guard found her.
Ms. Majors was taken to Mount Sinai St. Luke’s hospital, where she died from her injuries, Chief Harrison said.
A folding knife with a blade roughly four inches long was recovered near the scene and was being tested for DNA and fingerprints, a law enforcement official said.
“We are devastated by the senseless loss of our beautiful and talented Tess,” her family said in a statement on Friday. “We are thankful for the incredible outpouring of love and support we have received from across the country.”
Ms. Majors grew up in Charlottesville, Va., and had just moved to New York for college. She spent her weekends singing and playing punk rock.
She and her band, Patient 0, had just put out their first album in the fall, and they had played their first New York City concert in October.
Her father, Robert Inman Majors, who goes by his middle name, is a novelist and teaches creative writing at James Madison University in Virginia.Her father, Robert Inman Majors, who goes by his middle name, is a novelist and teaches creative writing at James Madison University in Virginia.
The park where Ms. Majors was stabbed, near the campuses of Barnard College and Columbia University, is in a precinct in Harlem that has grown safer over the years, with major crimes declining dramatically there over the last 20 years, according to police data. “We are devastated by the senseless loss of our beautiful and talented Tess,” her family said in a statement on Friday. “We are thankful for the incredible outpouring of love and support we have received from across the country.”
The park where Ms. Majors was stabbed, near the campuses of Barnard College and Columbia University, is in a precinct in Harlem that has grown safer over the years, with major crimes declining drastically there over the last 20 years, according to police data. The precinct had only one other murder so far this year.
“It’s terrifying to think that that could happen anywhere,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a news conference on Thursday. “It’s unbelievable to me that that could happen here, next to one of our great college campuses.”“It’s terrifying to think that that could happen anywhere,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a news conference on Thursday. “It’s unbelievable to me that that could happen here, next to one of our great college campuses.”
But residents have raised concerns about persistent crime in Morningside Park, even as the neighborhood around it improved, and playgrounds and ball fields replaced patches that were once strewn with crack vials. But residents have raised concerns about persistent crime in Morningside Park, even as the neighborhood around it improves, and playgrounds and ball fields replace desolate patches once strewn with crack vials.
Earlier this year, several people reported that they had been approached from behind in the park and punched by young people.Earlier this year, several people reported that they had been approached from behind in the park and punched by young people.
As of Sunday, there had been 20 robberies inside Morningside Park or on its perimeter this year, compared to seven in the same period last year. As of Sunday, there had been 20 robberies reported inside Morningside Park or on its perimeter this year, compared to seven in the same period last year.
Since June, five people have reported being robbed on or near the staircase at 116th Street and Morningside Drive, near the location where Ms. Majors was stabbed. Recently, the police said, several teenagers had been arrested in a pattern of robberies in the area.Since June, five people have reported being robbed on or near the staircase at 116th Street and Morningside Drive, near the location where Ms. Majors was stabbed. Recently, the police said, several teenagers had been arrested in a pattern of robberies in the area.
Tom Baker, 73, who since 1964 has lived on the Upper West Side and has had an affiliation with Columbia, said that he feared the killing of Ms. Majors would cause a return to a bygone mentality of fear that once divided the university from the surrounding neighborhoods. Mr. Levine, the city councilman, said officials needed to do more to keep the park safe, including filling gaps in lighting and boosting surveillance camera coverage, which he called spotty.
“There was somebody who had no idea what the old Columbia rules were,” he said about Ms. Majors. “In the old days, nobody went through Morningside Park — at all,” he said. “Ever.” Tom Baker, 73, has lived on the Upper West Side and has had an affiliation with Columbia since 1964. He said he feared the killing of Ms. Majors would cause a return to a bygone mentality of fear that once divided the university from the surrounding neighborhoods. Ms. Majors, he said, “was somebody who had no idea what the old Columbia rules were.”
That reluctance reflected a general sense felt by many at Columbia that nearby areas were not safe, Mr. Baker said. For decades, he avoided the park, never walking through it until 1995. “In the old days, nobody went through Morningside Park — at all,” he said. “Ever.”
He said he had been pleased to see the neighborhood become safer. Still, he said Wednesday’s murder was deeply troubling. He said he had been pleased to see the neighborhood become safer in the last 25 years. Still, he said Wednesday’s murder was deeply troubling.
“It makes you wonder, are we going back? Is the city on its way down?” Mr. Baker asked. “My prediction would be that they are going to revert to the old rules by instinct.”“It makes you wonder, are we going back? Is the city on its way down?” Mr. Baker asked. “My prediction would be that they are going to revert to the old rules by instinct.”
Reporting was contributed by William K. Rashbaum, Laura Dimon, Alex Traub, Azi Paybarah, Jan Ransom and Ashley Southall. Reporting was contributed by William K. Rashbaum, Laura Dimon, Kwame Opam, Alex Traub and Ali Watkins.