14-year-old arrested in murder of Barnard College student Tessa Majors
Authorities said Saturday they arrested a 14-year-old in connection the stabbing death of Barnard College student Tessa Majors. She was stabbed multiple times in December at a Manhattan park not far from the campus.
Police said they arrested Rashaun Weaver late Friday night, CBS New York reported. He faces second degree murder and robbery charges. Weaver will be tried in criminal court and is being charged as an adult.
"Sadly, it can not bring back this young woman. This student. This victim. That is something even the best, most impartial investigation simply can not do. What we can do is say that we are confident that we have the person in custody who stabbed her, and that person will face justice in a court of law," NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said Saturday at a press conference.
"This arrest is a major milestone on the path to justice for Tessa Majors," said Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr. "And our journey to reach that milestone today was not a sprint, but rather, it was a painstaking, deliberate and meticulous search for the truth."
Majors played in a rock band and friends say she was considering a career in journalism, CBS N.Y. reported. Police confirm the Majors family is aware of these developments.
"The killing of 18-year-old Tessa Majors was a heartbreaking tragedy that brought unimaginable loss to her family and friends," Vance added.
Police previously arrested a 13-year-old who they say admitted to being in the park with two other teenagers. The 13-year-old said he was not the person who stabbed Majors.
The 13-year-old's case is being heard in family court.
Majors, a freshman at Barnard College, was stabbed several times in Morningside Park, near West 116th Street, shortly before 7 p.m. local time on December 11. She staggered up a staircase onto the street where a school security guard found her and called 911. Barnard is part of Columbia University.
Vance said the criminal complaint paints "a gruesome picture of what this young woman endured in her final moments. As alleged, some of the last words she was known to have said was 'Help me, I'm being robbed.'"
According to the complaint, evidence against Weaver — who turns 15 in two months — includes DNA recovered from Tessa's fingernails. Vance also mentioned "video evidence, the blood evidence, the smart phone evidence, the iCloud evidence, the witness identification and the defendant's own statements."
There is a memorial with flowers and candles on the sidewalk near where the incident happened.