Jordan Neelys cause of death wasnt Daniel Penny chokehold but combined effects of drugs,struggleand schizophrenia: defense expert

Daniel Penny’s chokehold of Jordan Neely isn’t what killed the homeless man — he died from the “combined effects” of synthetic marijuana, schizophrenia and other factors, the defense’s medical expert testified Thursday.Dr.Satish Chundru, a forensic pathologist based in Texas, told jurors in Manhattan Supreme Court that Neely’s autopsy records and video of the fatal F train altercation in May 2023 didn’t show signs typical of known chokehold deaths.“In your opinion, did Mr.

Penny choke Mr.Neely to death?” Penny’s attorney Steven Raiser asked.“No,” replied Chundru, “the chokehold did not cause death.”Chundru, who said he has worked as a medical examiner for county governments in Florida and Texas, ruled out two medically recognized chokeholds — the air choke and the blood choke — because he believed Neely, 30, died from other causes.He also pointed out what he said were discrepancies in Neely’s medical records, specifically bruising on the homeless man’s neck, and how there was “almost negligible” petechia — tiny spots of bleeding — found on his eyelids, that Chundru claimed were inconsistent with a fatal chokehold.Instead, Chundru — who dubs himself the “Forensic Doc” on his website — said that Neely died by “the combined effects of sickle cell crisis, the schizophrenia, the struggle and restraint, and the synthetic marijuana.”Chundru claimed that schizophrenia carries an “increased risk of sudden cardiac death.” He also testified that he’d seen deaths caused by K2 toxicity alone.

Neely, a former Michael Jackson impersonator with a history of mental illness and drug abuse, had the synthetic marijuana in his system at the time of his death, trial evidence has shown.The findings from Chundru — who was called by Penny’s defense attorneys — were far different from those of the city medical examiner, who stood by her ruling that Neely’s death was caused by asphyxiation as a result of the former Ma...