Cause of death revealed for Jordan Neely, a homeless man who was killed by two Marines on the New York subway

One of the Marines accidentally asphyxiated the homeless man, who suffered a psychotic episode. The coroner ruled it a homicide.

A medical examiner revealed Wednesday the cause of death of Jordan Neely. On Monday, two Marines wrestled down the 30-year-old homeless man on the subway in Lower Manhattan. Neely was behaving violently and was dangerous. That incident, the medical examiner revealed, ended in Jordan Neely's death by "neck compression" or, in other words, strangulation. One of them apparently grabbed him by the neck with such force that he died.

However, it is clear to the expert that the intention of the two Marines in restraining him was not to kill Neely. For that reason, it classified the death of the homeless man as a homicide, a term that indicates that the action of the two Navy men did not meet the conditions of malice aforethought, price or overkill.

The cause of Neely's death was a 24-year-old Marine from Queens. He, per The New York Post, knocked the homeless man down from behind and, according to the police, compressed his neck for 15 minutes. After that, the homeless man collapsed and when emergency services arrived they were unable to revive him.

According to the police, Neely, a regular Michael Jackson impersonator, had threatened the passengers, although it is not known exactly what kind of words the homeless man used. It is known that minutes before his mental episode he had been shouting that he had no food or drink and that, for that reason, he did not care if he went to jail.

Manhattan District Attorney's Office investigates death of Jordan Neely

Jordan Neely's death shocked New York. For that reason, the Manhattan District Attorney's office announced last Wednesday that it had decided to open an investigation into his death. They did not rule out pressing charges against the man who strangled him. This was stated by Doug Cohen, a spokesman for the office, in statements picked up by Bloomberg:

This is a solemn and serious matter that ended in the tragic loss of Jordan Neely’s life. As part of our rigorous ongoing investigation, we will review the Medical Examiner’s report, assess all available video and photo footage, identify and interview as many witnesses as possible, and obtain additional medical records. This investigation is being handled by senior, experienced prosecutors and we will provide an update when there is additional public information to share.

Meanwhile, some New Yorkers have taken to the streets in protest of what happened to Jordan Neely and are demanding justice for the homeless man, claiming, in several media outlets such as The New York Post, that he simply died because he was homeless.