Expand / Collapse search
☰

Tessa Majors murder: Third teen sentenced

By FOX 5 NY Staff
Updated  January 19, 2022 5:27pm EST
Crime and Public Safety
FOX 5 NY

Teen sentenced to 14 years to life in killing of Tessa Majors

A teen who pled guilty to fatally stabbing Barnard freshman Tessa Majors in 2019 was sentenced to 14 years to life in prison on Wednesday.

NEW YORK - A third teen accused in the shocking 2019 murder of 18-year-old Barnard College freshman Tessa Majors was sentenced to 14 years to life in prison on Wednesday.

Rashaun Weaver, the third and final assailant charged in Majors' death, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in December. 

Prosecutors say that Weaver, who was just 14 years old at the time of the killing, fatally stabbed Majors during a robbery gone awry.  

Get breaking news alerts in the free FOX5NY News app!  |  Sign up for FOX 5 email newsletters

"The only person who knows what it's like to be murdered early on the evening of December 11th, 2019 by Rashaun Weaver and two cohorts is Tess Majors," said Majors' parents in a victim impact statement read by prosecutors. "And she isn't here. She is not in this courtroom. Or Attending a class. Or playing music. Or laughing with friends. She no longer exists on planet Earth. She is gone and she is gone forever."

Suspect in Tessa Majors murder pleads guilty

Rashaun Weaver pled guilty Thursday to fatally stabbing Tessa Majors, the Barnard College freshman who was attacked while walking through Morningside Park two years ago.

Two other teens connected to Majors' death have also been convicted and charged. In September 2021, Luchiano Lewis pled guilty to murder and robbery charges and was sentenced to nine years in prison.

TEEN PLEADS GUILTY IN MURDER OF TESSA MAJORS

The final assailant, a juvenile, also pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 18 months of detention. The juvenile allegedly supplied Weaver with the knife he used to stab and kill Majors.