A homeless man who was choked to death on a train has sparked a public outcry with many wanting to know more about his life as his family fight for justice.
Jordan Neely, a homeless Black man, died after he was placed in a fatal chokehold during a confrontation on a New York subway.
The 30-year-old allegedly died at the hands of US Marine veteran Daniel Penny, 24, who has since been charged with manslaughter over the death.
Penny's lawyers claim he acted in self-defence, while Mr Neely's family said he wasn't harming anyone and didn’t deserve to die.
Mr Neely's death has sparked protests and discussions about how the bustling city treats people with mental illness, crime, race, and vigilantism.
But who was Jordan Neely before his tragic ending?
Jordan Neely's early tragedy
Jordan Neely had been a fixture in the New York City subway system for many years.
He started out as a talented Michael Jackson impersonator in his teens and 20s.
His childhood took a tragic turn when his mother, Christie Neely, went missing when he was 14-years old.
Christine, 36, a telemarketer was strangled to death in 2007 and her body was discovered in a suitcase in the Bronx.
Boyfriend, Shawn Southerland, a gold caddie, then 50, was charged with her murder and sentenced to 30 years in prison for her killing in 2012.
Jordan Neely's Michael Jackson praise
Jordan, known as the "Michael Jackson of Washington Irving" due to his passion for imitating the famous performer, attended high school but eventually dropped out.
He turned to social media, showcasing his Jackson impersonations in the subways of New York City.
A classmate of Mr Neely at Washington Irving High School in Manhattan, said of him: "Everyone called him Michael Jackson.
"The Michael Jackson of Washington Irving.
"He would be very passionate about dancing... very good behaviour with the teachers."
History of mental illness and criminality
Following his mother's death, Mr Neely began experiencing mental health issues, according to family members.
Mr Neely was on a list of people in the city with the most problematic behaviour and intense troubles and, according to sources that spoke to the New York Times, he had had multiple interactions with outreach workers and homeless shelters.
Over the last few years of his life, Mr Neely fell into mental illness and substance abuse, particularly with synthetic marijuana.
As an outcast, he faced multiple arrests, often related to living on the streets, and hospitalisations.
In November 2021, he assaulted a woman and spent time in jail before pleading guilty in 2023 and being offered a chance to receive treatment.
In February this year, he was released from jail under the plea deal which, however, required him to stay out of trouble, take antipsychotic medication, and not abuse drugs.
He left the residential treatment program two weeks later, and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
In March, he was approached by homeless-outreach workers, who gave him a ride to a shelter where he spent the night.
But a few weeks later, outreach workers found him at a subway station in Coney Island, where he exposed himself and urinated inside a subway car.
The police were called and Mr Neely was ejected from the station, but he was not arrested despite the warrant.
The encounter led an outreach worker to file a note that Mr Neely could be a harm to himself or others if left untreated and not assessed by a mental health professional.
Protests in the aftermath of the tragedy
Multiple violent protests have erupted in the days since his death, with large demonstrators demanding justice be served for Mr Neely’s death.
Things turned chaotic near the SoHo subway station where Neely was killed.
Police arrested several people, which angered the crowd, and some detained individuals were injured.
Because Neely was Black and accused Penny is white, some see echoes of the case of Bernhard Goetz, a white gunman who shot four Black men on a subway train in 1984.
While because of the horrific death by strangling, many relate the case to that of George Floyd, the Black man who was killed by police in May 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Amid the controversy, New York City Mayor Eric Adams initially declined to condemn Penny and to reference the rights of subway riders to take action in certain situations.
“I was a former transit police officer, and I responded to many jobs where you had a passenger assisting someone,” Mr Adams said after Neely’s death was first reported.
Jordan Neely's family and loved ones seek justice
The family of Mr Neely have forcefully lashed out at Daniel Penny, and accused of killing him.
Lawyers for Penny said that Jordan Neely had been "aggressively threatening" Penny and other passengers.
But Mr Neely's family rejected this and said that Penny had no regard for Mr Neely's life. They also said that Penny's subsequent press release showed that he felt entitled to take Neely's life.
The statement was “a character assassination and a clear example of why he believed he was entitled to take Jordan’s life”, the Neely family said Monday.
They added that the proprietor "talks about how 'bad' Jordan was in an effort to convince us Jordan's life was 'worthless'," when "the truth is, he knew nothing about Jordan's history when he intentionally wrapped his arms around Jordan's neck, and squeezed and kept squeezing."
Kerry Moles, a social worker who leads the Court Appointed Special Advocates of New York City, a non-profit that represents youth in foster care, spoke in support of the vulnerable deceased.
She told the Guardian: "Jordan Neely could have been one of a hundred other young people that I’ve worked with.
"So it feels like a failure of the system that so many of us work so hard to improve."
Thomas Kenniff, a lawyer for Penny, said he didn't mean to harm Neely and is dealing with the situation with the "integrity and honour that is characteristic of who he is and characteristic of his honourable service in the United States Marine Corps."
A judge authorized Penny's release on $100,000 bond and ordered him to surrender his passport and not to leave New York without approval.
Prosecutors said they are seeking a grand jury indictment. Penny is due back in court on July 17.
