Daniel Penny’s sister and childhood friend made his case to jurors Monday at his manslaughter trial, describing the former Marine as a “calm and peaceful” surfing fanatic who earned a reputation for honesty in their close-knit Long Island hometown.
“People always spoke so highly of him,” Alexandra Fay, who grew up on the same block as Penny on West Islip Beach, told Manhattan jurors about her former neighbor, who is accused of “recklessly” killing homeless man Jordan Neely. have strangled. death on a subway train last May.
“He was so nice. If anything, he was extra nice… He always said something,” Fay added, grinning toward Penny, 26, who was sitting at the defense table in Manhattan Supreme Court.
Penny’s older sister, Jacqueline Penny, also entered the courtroom with a smile, before describing her brother as a “smart” and “focused” student who played upright bass in their high school orchestra, played on the lacrosse team and “enjoys surfing as a hobby.”
“We had similar friends, similar groups of friends, hung out with similar people,” testified Jacqueline, who goes by “Jackie” and was the first witness called by the defense after prosecutors from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office rested their case Monday afternoon. .
“He was always very nice to my friends and I was nice to his friends too,” she said.
Daniel Penny also has a reputation within their family for being an “honest” and “calm and peaceful person,” his sister said.
At the end of her appearance on the stand, which lasted only 15 minutes, Jackie Penny was asked by her brother’s attorney, Thomas Kenniff, “Don’t you want something bad to happen to your brother?”
“Yes,” she replied.
“Is that why you’re testifying?” Kenniff continued.
“Yes,” Jackie Penny replied.
Kenniff also asked Penny’s sister and childhood friend if they were surprised that Daniel enlisted in the Marines after high school.
“A little bit, because he was a very calm and gentle person,” his sister told jurors, before adding that “it wasn’t entirely surprising” because “he was always patriotic and men served in our family.”
Fay, Penny’s former neighbor in West Islip, described the Suffolk County hamlet as a “very small town where everyone knows each other.
“We call it the little ‘West Islip bubble,’” she said.
Fay acknowledged during brief cross-examination that she had contributed to Penny’s legal defense fund, which has raised more than $3 million — but the judge struck from the record the part of the exchange where prosecutors mentioned the enormous sum.
Penny’s team called their first two witnesses after the prosecution rested its case, which ended with three grueling days of testimony from Dr. Cynthia Harris, the city medical examiner who ruled that Penny’s chokehold caused Neely’s death.
Penny’s lawyers spent most of Monday trying to poke holes in Harris’ findings, which she said she made after watching a viral video of the fatal May 1, 2023, encounter recorded by a journalist who witnessed the confrontation on the Manhattan F train.
Near the end of her time on the stand, Penny attorney Steven Raiser raised his voice as he questioned why Harris determined Neely’s cause of death before receiving a toxicology report, which showed he had the synthetic K2 cannabis in his system.
“Yes, but if someone was shot in the head, I also determined that the cause of death was that he or she was shot in the head,” Harris joked back.
“I wouldn’t wait for the toxicology results to show that.”
Harris testified Friday that video of the encounter so conclusively showed that Penny’s chokehold killed Neely that she wouldn’t change her opinion even if the homeless man had enough drugs in his system “to kill an elephant.”
Penny has pleaded not guilty to second-degree manslaughter and negligent homicide, and faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted on the top charge.
His attorneys argue that his actions were justified to subdue and restrain Neely, who witnesses said was threatening and menacing passengers.
Prosecutors allege Penny held Neely far too long, including more than five minutes after nearly all the straphangers had left the subway — and for 51 seconds after Neely’s body went limp.
The trial will resume on Tuesday.
