Jury finds Sayfullo Saipov guilty on all counts in 2017 West Side bike path attack
NEW YORK -- Jurors have returned a guilty verdict in the trial of the man accused of killing eight people on a West Side bike path in 2017.
The first phase of a federal trial ended Thursday afternoon with Sayfullo Saipov guilty on all counts.
The jury deliberated just six hours over two days to convict Saipov for his actions of five years and three months ago, bringing terror to New York City on Halloween 2017.
Saipov drove a rented truck along the West Side bike path, killing eight people, including Rutgers University graduate Darren Drake and five friends visiting from Argentina.
Saipov said he was inspired by the terror group ISIS.
Defense attorney David Patton told the jury Saipov did it and never cross-examined a witness.
"He's guilty. This first part is for show," said former prosecutor Jason Goldman.
Goldman says the focus now is on the penalty phase.
"Very, very few cases, as you know, involve potential death penalty," he said.
In 2017, then-president Donald Trump quickly demanded that Saipov face the death penalty.
President Joe Biden took office calling for a moratorium on capital punishment, but his Justice Department decided to pursue it against Saipov.
During the penalty phase, the defense will try to touch a sympathetic nerve in at least one juror, hoping for a life sentence.
"You do need to paint the picture, right? He wasn't born, we don't think he was born predisposed to do this, right? That's the argument. It's where did he come from? What abuse did he suffer as a child? How did he find himself gravitating towards committing this conduct?" Goldman said.
The penalty phase starts Feb. 6, and it will take a unanimous verdict to put Saipov on death row.
Recap of the trial
The jury found 34-year-old Sayfullo Saipov guilty on all counts including murder, and providing material support to ISIS.
Saipov admittedly drove down the bike path on the West Side Highway on Halloween 2017 and killed eight bicyclists. Others were injured.
The verdict came in just after 3 p.m. Thursday.
Family members of two of the victims hugged one another as the guilty verdict was read.
Saipov had no reaction.
The jury began deliberating late afternoon Wednesday and sent several notes requesting transcripts of testimony from the trial.
Their service isn't over yet. Now they must decide whether or not he'll receive the death penalty.
Saipov rented a truck from Home Depot in Passaic, New Jersey. He drove the 6,000 pound vehicle along the West Side Highway and veered onto the bike path, mowing down bicyclists.
Ann-Laure Decadt, in New York from Belgium with her two sisters and mother on a celebratory trip, was killed. Her sister testified.
"Her gaze was lifeless. She just stared up into the air and there was lots of blood coming out of her mouth," she said.
Ten friends from Argentina were riding bikes in pairs. All five on the left side were killed.
Survivor Martin Marro testified a friend "positioned my head so I wasn't drowning in my own blood."
Darren Drake from New Jersey was struck and run over.
Nicholas Cleves from New York was killed. His mother held her head in her hands in court when his lifeless body under a sheet was shown in court.
Twelve people were injured.
Marion Van Reeth from Belgium took the stand. She woke up in the hospital two weeks later with no memory of what happened. Among her many injuries - both legs were amputated, and a finger.
Another woman on a bike testified he missed her by an inch but she saw him one person then three more.
"Boom, boom boom. They went up in the air. Their bicycles went up in the air. They came crashing down," she testified.
Saipov intended to keep driving to the Brooklyn Bridge, but hit a pole and a school bus, injuring a child and adult on board. He got out waving fake guns. A police officer shot him.
Investigators found knives and sheets of paper in his vehicle - a confession.
He asked to fly an ISIS flag in his hospital room, and proudly smiled while boasting to the FBI about what he'd done and why he chose Halloween, 2017 - because he knew it would be crowded - and the West Side bike path "because it was easy."
A prison notebook seized last year had ISIS drawings. He called himself "a soldier of the caliphate" during a phone call to his mother from prison.
The defense admitted he did, believing he was "doing God's will," and he continues to believe that. So they did not cross-examine any witness or survivor.
They argued he did it for religious reasons, saying he was a supporter of ISIS, not a member, merely watching general videos in encrypted chats with no actual connection to the group.
They say the married father of three previously worked as a long-haul truck driver and Uber driver, and during that time began consuming ISIS propaganda on his phone. They presented no case - did not call any witnesses.
An expert who studies jihadist groups testified for the prosecution that there are two ways to become a member of ISIS: Travel overseas, or commit an attack where you are. The defense countered that Saipov planned to die during the attack, so he couldn't have been trying to become a member. The expert said you're identified the same when the terror group claims responsibility, as a soldier of the Islamic state, or as a martyr for them if you're killed.
Saipov did not testify.
During a 2018 court appearance, he said the judgments in the courtroom were "not important" to him, they were "not Allah's judgments."
The same jury will return in two weeks and begin the penalty phase. They'll listen to testimony to determine whether or not he'll receive the death penalty.
Saipov found guilty on all counts
A jury has found Sayfullo Saipov guilty on all counts.
Saipov faced faced charges in the 2017 attack that killed eight people and injured several others along the West Side bike path on Halloween.
The penalty phase of the trial will begin in two weeks.
Saipov, 34, was found guilty of eight counts of murder in aid of racketeering activity. The charges could mean the death penalty or life in prison.
He was also convicted of additional charges including assault with a dangerous weapon, attempted murder, providing and attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, and violence and destruction of motor vehicles.
Questions from the jury
As CBS2's Alice Gainer reports, the jury sent a note just before 6 p.m. Wednesday with three questions:
- Is the defense contending Sayfullo Saipov committed the truck attack as described but was simply charged with the wrong crime?
- Let's say the defendant flew to Syria to train with ISIS, got an ISIS ID card and came back to the United States and committed the same truck attack. Would he be charged with the same crime?
- If Saipov didn't commit the attack to join ISIS and was found not guilty, would he be retried on different charges?
The prosecution, defense and judge will discuss how to answer these questions at 9:30 a.m. Thursday. The jury reports at 10 a.m.
Recap of closing arguments
Closing arguments were made Tuesday in the terror trial of Sayfullo Saipov.
He says he carried out the attack in the name of ISIS, yet his defense says he has no real connection to the terrorist group.
In its three-hour closing argument, the prosecution pointed to a mountain of evidence against the 34-year-old, explaining how he turned a "bike path into his battlefield" by following the ISIS terror playbook -- using a 6,000-pound rental truck, targeting a crowded area and even carrying a confession with him to the crime.
Saipov has admitted to driving onto the bike path at Pier 40 and mowing down cyclists, killing eight and injuring even more.
A crash expert testified Saipov appeared to be speeding upwards of nearly 60 mph. Saipov told investigators he intended to keep going to the Brooklyn Bridge but hit some poles and a school bus.
He got out, waving fake guns and yelling "Allahu akbar." He was eventually shot by a police officer.
His defense attorneys argue Saipov thought he would die during the attack and therefore couldn't be trying to become a member of ISIS.
An expert who studies jihadist groups explained on the stand, whether you live or die during an attack, ISIS considers you a member or martyr of its organization all the same.
In the hospital, Saipov asked to hang an ISIS flag in the room. Pointing to a prison notebook seized just last year, the prosecution showed his ISIS drawings.
In a recorded prison phone call with his mother, he said he was a soldier of the caliphate.
The defense called no witnesses and rested its case after entering a couple of things into evidence.
Saipov did not testify despite speaking out in court during a 2018 appearance.
Though they say he was willing to die during the 2017 attack, they are trying to spare him the death penalty, even offering he plead guilty to avoid it, which was rejected.
He's now pleaded not guilty to the 28-count indictment against him. The defense filed a motion and argued for acquittal, but that was denied.
The defense argues Saipov was motivated by religion, not ISIS.