Slain Student's Plea: 'Help Me, I'm Being Robbed!'

Juvenile is arrested, will be tried for murder as an adult in killing of Tessa Majors
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 15, 2020 1:59 PM CST
Cops: We Caught the Teen Who Stabbed Tessa Majors
In this Dec. 21, 2019, file photo, photos, articles and letters are laid out on display before a ceremony honoring Tessa Majors at St. Anne's Belfield School in her hometown of Charlottesville, Va.   (Erin Edgerton/The Daily Progress via AP, File)

Two months after a Barnard College freshman was stabbed to death in a New York City park, police say they've caught the killer. The 14-year-old, identified as Rashaun Weaver, will be tried as an adult on charges of second-degree murder and robbery in the death of 18-year-old Tessa Majors, reports the AP. Authorities previously arrested a 13-year-old as an accomplice but say Weaver is the one who wielded the knife on Dec. 11 in Manhattan's Morningside Park. "It paints a gruesome picture of what this young woman endured in her final moments," says Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance. "As alleged, some of the last words she was known to have said were, 'Help me! I'm being robbed.'"

The robbery unfolded in the early evening when three juveniles confronted Majors in the park, reports NBC News. One of the teens reportedly put Majors in a chokehold as others went through her pockets. Police say Majors bit one of her assailant's fingers and was stabbed multiple times in the torso during the struggle. The new criminal complaint says Weaver told police "'she was hanging onto her phone' and that he hit her with a knife," per CNN. Majors eventually broke free before staggering up a set of park stairs and collapsing. (More Tessa Majors stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X