Boy, 14, Arrested As Tessa Majors' Murder Suspect Amid 'Gruesome' Evidence
Feb. 15 2020, Updated 11:10 p.m. ET
A 14-year-old boy has been arrested in the stabbing murder of Tessa Majors, police said, as CNN has reported.
The Barnard College freshman, 18, was brutally killed in an apparent botched robbery in Manhattan's Morningside Park on the evening of December 11.
Now Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance said that the teen suspect faces two counts of murder in the second degree -- one for intentional murder, the other for felony murder committed during a robbery.
The boy has also charged with four robbery counts.
The teen was arrested without incident at a Harlem housing project Friday night, according to police.
Evidence "paints a gruesome picture of what this young woman endured in her final moments," Vance said. "As alleged, some of the last words she was known to have said were, 'Help me! I'm being robbed.'"
NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said about the arrest, "Sadly, it cannot bring back this young woman, this student, this victim. That is something even the best most impartial investigation simply cannot do. What we can do is say that we are confident we have the person in custody who stabbed her."
The defendant's lawyer hasn't commented.
As RadarOnline.com readers know, reports indicate Majors was walking down the steps to the park when at least two men confronted her.
She had a “quick interaction” with them, then fell quickly to the ground, with her cell phone falling next to her, a source who reviewed the surveillance video of the crime told the NY Daily News.
Ed Mullins, the president of the NYPD sergeant's union, outraged many by later saying in an interview on AM 970, "What I am understanding is that Majors was in the park to buy marijuana."
Mullins also said, “Think about that — we don’t enforce marijuana laws anymore, we’re basically hands off on enforcement of marijuana."
The late Majors' family lashed out at Mullins for his inappropriate interview, which appeared to be blaming the victim.
The family said in a statement, “We would ask Mr. Mullins not to engage in such irresponsible public speculation, just as the NYPD asked our family not to comment as it conducts the investigation.”
Mullins said his remarks were meant as a knock on Mayor Bill De Blasio, not on the young woman.
Now with the arrest, Vance said the criminal complaint includes "substantial blood analysis," smart phone and video evidence and a recorded statement from the suspect.
Police found Majors lying face down and bleeding from multiple stab wounds in the park. One reportedly hit her heart.
The college student was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital at 7:23 p.m.
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Another teen, a 13-year-old boy from Manhattan, was arrested the day after the stabbing. He was charged with second-degree murder, first-degree robbery and criminal possession of a weapon.
