Barnard College freshman Tessa Majors was killed on Wednesday around 7pm
Chilling new details have emerged in the killing of Barnard College freshman Tessa Majors, as police hold two teen suspects and seek a third.
Feathers flew from Tessa’s down coat as she was stabbed in the frenzied attack, Detective Vincent Signoretti said one teen suspect told him during a court hearing on Friday.
Tessa battled in vain to fight off the muggers in the attack at 7pm on Wednesday in upper Manhattan’s Morningside Park, biting one assailant one the hand, the juvenile court heard.
The 13-year-old male suspect who appeared in court on Friday claimed he just watched as his two friends, who are similar in age, carried out the murder during the trio’s botched mugging, according to police. Another 14-year-old is being held, and police are now seeking the third suspect.
At Friday’s hearing, the court ordered the 13-year-old held without bail. The name of the boy, a Harlem resident, is being withheld because he will be tried as a juvenile delinquent in family court.
Tessa was attacked on these stairs in the park, which is situated on a steep slope that separates the wealthy sister campuses of Barnard and Columbia University from Harlem below
At the hearing, Signoretti laid out the preliminary findings of the investigation, telling how the suspect had confessed to deciding to do a mugging with two middle school friends after classes let out on Wednesday.
The trio made their way to Morningside Park, situated on a steep slope that separates the wealthy sister campuses of Barnard and Columbia University from Harlem below.
‘They followed a man with the intention of robbing him and decided not to,’ Detective Signoretti said, according to the New York Times.
Later, the trio spotted Tessa and decided to victimize her, according to the boy’s confession.
The boy told police that he watched his two friends grab the student, put her into a chokehold and remove items from her pockets, the officer testified.
The boy said that his friend dropped a knife as he held Tessa in the chokehold, and that he picked it up and handed it to the friend, who then stabbed the college student, the court heard.
Police divers search a pond in Morningside Park in Morningside Heights for evidence connected to the stabbing death of Tessa Majors
NYPD Scuba team continues to search Morningside Park on Friday for evidence involving the stabbing death of Tessa Majors
The trio removed her wallet and fled, according to the confession, as Tessa crawled up a steep flight of steps in the park desperately seeking help.
A security guard at the top of the steps called 911 when he spotted her, but she died in a nearby hospital.
Near the scene of the attack was found a folding knife with a four-inch blade, which is being tested for DNA and fingerprints, a law enforcement source told the Times.
The case broke when police detained the 13-year-old on suspicion of trespassing in a building near the park on Thursday. He was questioned in the presence of guardians and made incriminating statement tying himself to the murder, according to police.
The 13-year-old boy has not yet been formally arraigned, but faces charges of second-degree felony murder, robbery and criminal possession of a weapon.
He is due back in court on Tuesday.
Under state law, the teen can only be tried as an adult if he is charged with intentional murder, which would require his active participation in the slay.
Juveniles convicted in New York state’s family courts can be sent to detention facilities until they are 21 in many cases, and are often released after that.
Majors was killed just as the semester at all-women’s Barnard College was winding down, with final exams set to begin Friday followed by a month break
She sang and played bass guitar in the rock band Patient 0. After her first New York show in October, Majors wrote on Instagram: ‘Safe to say the first NYC show went well ;)’
It’s increasingly rare for young teens to be charged with murder in New York City, where the homicide total has plunged to below 300 in recent years.
However, NYPD crime data shows that Morningside Park has become a hotbed of violent crime in recent months.
At least 20 robberies have been reported in and around the park this year, the data shows.
In the 26th Precinct, which includes Morningside Park, has seen a 27 percent increase in robberies so far in 2019, compared to the same period last year.
Burglary, petty larceny and misdemeanor assault are also up by double digits in the precinct.
Citywide, the stats are less dramatic, but murder is up 9 percent over last year, and robbery and felony assault both up around 2 percent.
A chart shows the annual incidents of robbery in the 26 Precinct, which includes Morningside Park. The rate has increased the last two years after coming off highs in the late 1990s
Majors was killed just as the semester at all-women’s Barnard College was winding down, with final exams set to begin Friday followed by a month break.
She sang and played bass guitar in the rock band Patient 0. After her first New York show in October, Majors wrote on Instagram: ‘Safe to say the first NYC show went well ;)’
Her Instagram account also offered glimpses into Majors’ personality and her move from Charlottesville, Virginia to the big city, from farewells to the ‘ville’ to posts about college life.
Majors graduated high school in May from the private St. Anne’s-Belfield School in Charlottesville, where Head of School David Lourie said she was ‘a shining light in our community, a good friend, respected classmate, trusted teammate, and creative and passionate musician.’
Her father, Inman Majors, is the author of six novels and an English professor at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
‘We are thankful for the incredible outpouring of love and support we have received from across the country,’ the family statement said. ‘We would also like to express our appreciation for the efforts of the men and women of the NYPD, who continue to work diligently on this case.’