Daniel Penny, a Marine veteran of 24 years, is the guy seen choking Jordan Neely in the subway death

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Insider has learned that the former Marine filmed choking a homeless Michael Jackson imposter in a subway death that horrified New York City and the nation this week is Daniel Penny, a 24-year-old surfing fanatic from West Islip, Long Island.

Penny may be seen on camera putting his arm over the head and neck of Jordan Neely, who was apparently acting strangely on the F train at 2:15 p.m. on Monday.

On Thursday, the name Penny was trending on Twitter. The Daily Mail briefly mentioned his surname in a photo caption on its website on Thursday, and the publication ran a piece named Penny as well on Friday morning.

A former senior law enforcement officer verified to Insider that the guy shown on film putting Neely in a chokehold before his murder was Daniel Penny.

Penny, his family, and his attorneys did not return phone calls or messages left Thursday night or Friday morning. He hasn’t been charged with anything.

Juan Alberto Vázquez, an independent journalist, caught part of the confrontation that resulted in Neely’s murder on camera. Penny and two other guys are shown on film restraining Neely on the subway vehicle floor until he stops moving. On Wednesday, May 3, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in New York City pronounced Neely’s death a homicide by compression to the neck.

Penny was questioned but not arrested, and the police refused to divulge his identity. Several media outlets just identified him as a Marine or a former Marine. Stories in New York City’s two tabloids were significantly less kind to Neely, whose extensive arrest record was emphasized.

Neely was a familiar figure to Manhattan commuters, who saw him mimicking Michael Jackson in subway stations for years. Following his mother’s murder in 2007, he apparently faced major mental health issues. According to Neely’s aunt, he sought aid at Bellevue Hospital but was unable to receive the necessary therapy. (The hospital’s press office did not respond promptly to an email requesting comment.)

According to media sources, he began acting strangely aboard an F train in Manhattan on Monday, May 1. Penny used a chokehold on Neely for several minutes. Penny applied a chokehold to the floor of the subway train as it idled at Broadway-Lafayette station, causing Neely to seem to stop moving. He was transferred to a hospital and died there.

Penny joined the Marines in 2017 after graduating from West Islip High School, where images and videos show him playing on his high school lacrosse team. He entered the Marine Corps as an infantryman and progressed to the rank of sergeant, according to the Marine Corps. According to the Marine Corps, Penny’s most recent duty was at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. Penny’s LinkedIn page matches that description.

Penny identified himself as an “adventurous, charming, and honest” New Yorker looking for bartending employment on Harri, a restaurant industry recruitment platform. In his profile shot, he is holding a surfboard. Penny was wearing a hoodie from a Long Island surf shop and a cap with an Australian surf brand’s emblem on the day of the train confrontation.

“I came to learn what I was enthusiastic about while serving as squad commander on two deployments.” “I enjoyed assisting, interacting with, and connecting with individuals from all around the world,” Penny’s Harri profile stated.

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