An uncle of the man choked to death in the New York City subway earlier this week said his nephew was self-medicating with K2, and called for the arrests of three people for what he called a “gang killing.”
Christopher Neely, 44, said his nephew, Jordan, was using the synthetic drug to treat his depression in the wake his mother’s death.
“When he lost his mother, my sister, it was heartbreaking for him,” the Harlem man told The Post. “He got into K2 and drugs, which was his way of healing himself.”
Neely said he did not know what other drugs his nephew had been using.
“He was back and forth on the medication. Jordan was really out on the streets — he didn’t want no help. The only time he’d get help is when people would call the police on him.”
He added: “The mental health system is horrible.”
Relatives previously told The Post Jordan, who was homeless, had been suffering from schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.
Neely slammed New York City law enforcement for releasing Daniel Penny, the Marine Corps. veteran identified as the person who fatally choking his nephew.
He joined other public officials, including civil rights activists, including Rev. Al Sharpton, in calling for his arrest.
“Why would you release somebody who just choked someone to death?” he told The Post Friday.
“The Marine should never have been released at all,” he went on. “That was a stab in the face to all of Jordan’s family and loved ones.
“The good Samaritan laws shouldn’t be a license to kill the homeless.”
Neely was allegedly behaving erratically inside an F train around 2:30 p.m. Monday. He was asking straphangers for food and allegedly throwing trash and making threats.
Police and witnesses said he shouted, “I don’t care if I go to jail, and if they give me life in prison.”
Who is Neely?
Jordan Neely, 30, a homeless man, was strangled aboard a northbound F train just before 2:30 p.m. on May 1, according to police.
He reportedly started acting erratically on the train and harassing other passengers before being restrained and ultimately choked by a straphanger, identified as a 24-year-old Marine from Queens.
The Marine, who was seen on video applying the chokehold, was taken into custody and later released but the DA is mulling charges, which could include involuntary manslaughter, according to experts.
Why is there fallout over Neely’s death?
The city medical examiner ruled Neely’s death a homicide, noting he died due to “compression of neck (chokehold).” This will be weighed during the investigation into whether charges will be brought for Neely’s death.
Neely’s aunt told The Post that he became a “complete mess” following the brutal murder of his mother in 2007. She noted he was schizophrenic while suffering from PTSD and depression.
“The whole system just failed him. He fell through the cracks of the system,” Carolyn Neely said.
Law enforcement sources said Neely had “numerous” arrests on his record, including for drugs, disorderly conduct, and fare beating.
At the time of his death, Neely had a warrant out for his arrest for a November 2021 case in which he was accused of assaulting a 67-year-old woman in the East Village, the sources said.
Mayor Eric Adams has said it’s important for the DA to complete the investigation into Neely’s death and not rush to conclusions.
Penny was taken into custody on Monday after Neely, 30, was pronounced dead at the scene. But he was later released and has not been charged.
The fatal interaction was captured on video that showed Penny holding Neely in a chokehold for several minutes before releasing his limp body.
A city medical examiner ruled Neely’s death a homicide, caused by compression of the neck.
A grand jury is expected to convene in Manhattan as soon as next week in connection with his death.
But Neely said arrests should be made beyond Penny – and called for action against the other two people seen in the horrifying footage.
“Three men killed Jordan, not just the Marine. It was a gang killing — period,” Neely said.
He said his nephew “got jumped by three hoodlums.”
“The Marine choked Jordan to death but the other two men held my nephew’s hands while he was trying to break free from the chokehold,” he went on. “They were all assailants in this murder and should all be charged.”
Carolyn Neely, Jordan’s aunt, previously told The Post her nephew was living on the street “by choice.”
She said she had tried to get him help, to no avail.
“As his aunt, as his blood, I was crying out for medical help for my nephew but everything was about insurance. He didn’t get the medical attention he needed. He needed to go to a long term facility.
She added: “He was never aggressive. He wasn’t a bad person, he just needed better help from doctors who did not give him help when I asked them.”
With Craig McCarthy