Teen sentenced in connection with death of Tessa Majors
Tessa Majors, 18, of Virginia was stabbed to death inside Morningside Park.
NEW YORK - A teenager who pleaded guilty to robbery in the fatal attack on a Barnard College student will be held at a juvenile detention facility for at least six months.
A judge on Monday sentenced the 14-year-old boy to 18 months in the custody of the Administration for Children's Services in connection with the brutal robbery and murder of Tessa Majors, 18, in Morningside Park, on December 11, 2019. He was 13 at the time.
After he serves six months in detention, ACS has the discretion to release him and "monitor his progress in the community," according to the city's Law Department. ACS can decide to hold or supervise him until his 18th birthday.
"Ms. Majors was a bright, promising, and talented young woman who had just begun to explore life as a college student in New York City when she was tragically and senselessly murdered," Corporation Counsel James Johnson said in a statement. "While we have brought this portion of this horrific case to a close, we know that the pain of this loss will endure."
The boy told police that he was part of a group of teens that approached Majors, who was walking through the park. He said he didn't stab her.
Two other boys, both 14 at the time, have pleaded not guilty to murder and are being tried as adults.
"Outside of the courtroom, we know that no resolution can diminish the loss and grief suffered by the Majors family," Johnson said.