MANHATTAN — Two 14-year-old suspectswere indicted on murder charges Wednesday in theDec. 11 deadly stabbing of Barnard student Tessa Majors, officials said.
Majors was in Morningside Park on the night she was killed. Wounded, she stumbled up a flight of stairs to street level and collapsed near a campus security booth.
“Help me, I’m being robbed,” she said, according to Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance.
Those were her last words.
Rashuan Weaver was charged with two counts of murder in the second degree, including one count as intentional murder and one count as felony murder. The other 14-year-old suspect was charged with one count of murder in the second degree as a felony murder.
They pleaded not guilty.
“While a criminal process will never fully heal the unimaginable pain suffered by Tessa Majors’ family and friends, this indictment is a significant step forward on the path to justice,” said District Attorney Cyrus Vance. “We are committed to holding these young people accountable, and equally committed to a fair process which safeguards their rights. This is how we will achieve true justice for Tessa and her loved ones.”
A 13-year-old boy was previously charged in family court in connection with the student’s death, though he is not accused of stabbing her.
He told police one of his friends grabbed Majors from behind and another friend stabbed her before taking items from her pockets, officials said. The 13-year-old boy is accused of picking up the knife after his friend dropped it.
Another 14-year-old boy was questioned several days after Majors’ death, but he was later released without charges, police said.
Weaver’s DNA was found under Majors’ fingernails, officials said. He was also heard describing the attack on an audio recording. The teen is also accused of robbing a man at knife point in the same park just days before Majors’ death.
