In a gripping courtroom session on Friday, a New York City medical examiner provided harrowing details about the fatal chokehold imposed by Daniel Penny on Jordan Neely, revealing that the pressure caused Neely’s tongue and soft tissue in his neck to block his windpipe, leading to suffocation.

Dr. Cynthia Harris took the stand for the second consecutive day in the second-degree manslaughter and reckless endangerment trial against Penny. Her testimony was pivotal in framing the circumstances surrounding Neely’s untimely death, which the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has classified as a homicide resulting from asphyxia.

“If Mr. Neely’s neck had not been compressed, he would not have died,” Harris asserted firmly, underscoring the direct connection between the chokehold and Neely’s demise.

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Prosecutors allege that Penny acted initially to prevent Neely from potentially harming other passengers on the train. However, they argue that he maintained the chokehold for over five minutes, fully aware from his military training that such force could prove fatal.

Harris provided a detailed, frame-by-frame analysis of a cellphone recording capturing the struggle between Neely and Penny on the F train floor. Utilizing a pointer, she demonstrated to the jury where the “accessory muscles” in Neely’s torso showed signs of constriction as he gasped for air.

She described Neely’s condition as one of “air hunger” — a desperate struggle to intake or expel oxygen.

“This is a still taken from the video where you can see the veins in Mr. Neely’s face are distended,” she remarked, indicating the visible bulging lines on Neely’s face. “I believe that he appears purple. His face is much darker and more purple than his arms are.”

Harris elaborated that these observations indicated a critical obstruction of blood flow to Neely’s brain. Autopsy photographs revealed red splotches in Neely’s eyes, throat, and other body parts, indicative of ruptured blood vessels caused by the pressure from the chokehold.

As the video progressed, Harris noted that Neely seemed to lose strength, evidenced by his diminishing struggle. She pointed out that Neely’s feet and legs curled toward his body while his back arched, stating, “That’s not breathing, that’s not voluntary, that’s the sign of a brain dying.”

“This is an asphyxial death … the brain dies first; the brain is the most sensitive organ in the body to oxygen,” she explained. Notably, Harris mentioned that Neely’s heart continued to beat involuntarily, which is why bystanders and police initially detected a pulse.

Addressing the potential influence of synthetic marijuana found in Neely’s system, Harris ruled it out as a cause of death. She explained that the drug typically acts as a stimulant, and if it had caused Neely’s death, he would have experienced cardiac arrest first.

“His heart was functioning and functioning for a couple of minutes, inconsistent with a cardiac arrest, but consistent with an asphyxial death,” Harris concluded, painting a stark picture of the tragic events that unfolded on that fateful day.