Second teen arrested in murder of Barnard College student Tessa Majors, authorities say

NEW YORK — A second teenager was arrested in connection with the December fatal stabbing of Tessa Majors, an 18-year-old Barnard College freshman in New York, authorities said Saturday.

A 14-year-old boy was taken into custody Friday night without incident, New York Police Department Commissioner Dermot Shea said in a news conference Saturday.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said the boy faces two counts of second-degree murder, one count of first-degree robbery and three counts of second-degree robbery, WCBS reported.

One of the murder counts represents “intentional murder,” while the other represents a charge for “a murder caused in the course of a robbery,” WNBC reported.

“We are confident that we have the person in custody who stabbed her, and that person will face justice in a court of law,” Shea said. "For that I am grateful, the city is grateful and the community around Morningside Park can take some comfort.

“Sadly, there is no comfort we can give them and for that we are sorry."

The second teen is charged as an adult and will be held at an undisclosed juvenile facility, WPIX reported.

Investigators had believed the teenager wielded the knife that killed Majors after she bit the hand of one of her three attackers during a violent struggle, The New York Times reported.

Majors, who had moved from Virginia to attend college in New York City, was walking through Morningside Park near Barnard College and Columbia University’s campuses around 7 p.m. Dec. 11 when she was approached by at least three people, police said.

One person pulled out a knife and stabbed Majors several times. The group fled and Majors struggled up a flight of stairs out of the park and onto the street. A security guard at Columbia University found her and called for help, ABC News reported.

On Dec. 12, police arrested a 13-year-old boy after clothes he was wearing matched the description of someone involved in the incident, CNN reported. A knife was found on the teen when he was taken into custody on suspicion of criminal trespass, and he later admitted to a robbery attempt and the stabbing, CNN reported.

© 2020 Cox Media Group