This archive report was first published on 16 June 2020.
A 14-year-old boy has been sentenced to up to 18 months in a juvenile detention centre for his role in the fatal stabbing of Barnard College student Tessa Majors in Manhattan's Morningside Park.
On June 15, 2020, the teenager pleaded guilty to robbery for his part in the deadly attack on Ms Majors, who was 18 years old at the time of her death.
Ms Majors, a first-year student from Virginia, was fatally stabbed in a struggle with the teenagers in Morningside Park on the evening of December 11, 2019.
The circumstances of the killing recalled an earlier era, when violent crime was rampant in the city and parks were considered dangerous after dark.
Under the sentence imposed by a Family Court judge, the teenager must serve at least six months and will be credited for the time he has already spent in juvenile detention since being arrested.
Ms Majors' family did not attend the sentencing, which was conducted via video because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“There are no minor actors in the murder of Tess Majors,” the family said in a statement that was read in court.
Ms Majors' family questioned the point of several days of pretrial hearings, during which public defenders sought to have the teenager's confession thrown out.
