Penny pleads not guilty to manslaughter charge in subway murder

The Navy veteran who strangled and killed a homeless man on the subway in May, in a polarizing case that crystallized New York City’s challenges with homelessness, mental health and subway violence, pleaded not guilty to a manslaughter charge Wednesday.

The defendant, Daniel Penny, appeared in a courtroom in Manhattan after being indicted by a grand jury for the murder of homeless man, Jordan Neely, earlier this month. In addition to manslaughter, prosecutors from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office filed a minor charge against Mr. Penny: negligent homicide.

On May 1, Mr. Penny was on the Manhattan subway, heading uptown, when Mr. Neely got into the car. Witnesses have said that Mr. Neely used threatening language and yelled at passengers.

There was no indication that he had physically confronted anyone. But Mr. Penny held him in a stranglehold for several minutes. The New York City coroner determined two days later that the stranglehold had killed Mr. Neely. That ruling does not mean that Mr. Penny is criminally guilty of Mr. Penny’s death.

This is a breaking story and will be updated.