Jordan Neely, the homeless man choked to death on the subway, sank into a deep depression after his mother was brutally murdered by his stepfather in 2007 — and was not properly treated for his mental illness, friends and family told The Post.
Neely, who died Monday afternoon after being held in a chokehold for 15 minutes by a straphanger, descended into “a complete mess” after his mother, Christie Neely, was reportedly strangled to death and then stuffed into a suitcase when he was just 14, according to his aunt, Carolyn Neely.
“My sister Christie was murdered in ‘07 and after that, he has never been the same,” Carolyn, 40, said.
“It had a big impact on him. He developed depression and it grew and became more serious. He was schizophrenic, PTSD. Doctors knew his condition and he needed to be treated for that.”
Carolyn, who described herself as Jordan’s closest living relative, said she pleaded with judges and doctors to help get the proper care for her nephew, but to no avail.
“The whole system just failed him. He fell through the cracks of the system,” she said.
Christie Neely was murdered by Shawn Southerland, then 50, who stuffed her dead body in a suitcase and threw it on the shoulder of the Henry Hudson Parkway, according to a 2012 NJ.com report.
Jordan was even called to testify in Southerland’s murder trial when was 18.
“The relationship had been crazy… a fight every day,” he said when describing the relationship between his 36-year-old mother and Southerland, according to the news outlet.
During the trial, Jordan said he tried to say goodbye to his mother before school on April 4, 2007, but Southerland blocked him from their bedroom.
He said later that day Southerland packed up and moved out.
Southerland was found guilty of murder. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison in March 2012.
Nedra Guaba of Washington Heights, who said she wanted to be identified as a close friend of the family, said she knew Jordan’s late mother for most of her life and knew Jordan since he was 4 years old.
“He suffered so much because of what happened to his mother,” Guaba told The Post. “She was his sole support. His father sure wasn’t.”
Guaba said Jordan loved doing his Michael Jackson impersonations on the subway when he was younger but spiraled into difficulties in recent years.
“He liked to hang out at train stations,” Carolyn said. “He wasn’t aggressive. That’s not who he is. He loved to dance and that was his outlet, that was his mental outlet after his mother died.”
Jordan reportedly had been arrested numerous times.
“He really started going downhill two years ago,” Guaba said, “I would see him all the time and give him something to eat. It was like he gave up. He felt his dreams were dead. He needed his mother.”
Cops said Jordan had been living on the streets and had a recorded history of mental illness. But Guaba said he had a place to live recently but did not want to say where.
Both women said Jordan’s father had not been around much. Carolyn Neely said Andre Zachery, now 60, abandoned Jordan as a baby. Nedra said Jordan lived with his father occasionally but the two did not get along.
Carolyn said she last spoke to Jordan on Facetime seven months ago.
“He would call me. We would video chat. He’d come to me when he had a problem,” said Carolyn, who now lives in Watertown, NY.
During the last call, she said, “He was smiling. He had a beautiful smile.”
Jordan had testified his mother and Southerland met in law school. At the time she died, Christie Neely was working as a telemarketer in Manhattan. Sources said Southerland had worked for a law firm at some point.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help with funeral expenses for the Neely family.
Alberto Vazquez, a freelance journalist who filmed video of the shocking incident, told The Post Neely was unhinged, yelling at riders that he didn’t have food or drinks and “doesn’t care if he goes to jail.”
Mr. Vazquez said at the time he did not believe the 30-year-old man could die.
“None of us were thinking that,” he said. “He was moving and he was defending himself.”
NYC subway choking victim Jordan Neely: What we know
When: May 1, 2023
Who: Jordan Neely, 30, a homeless man was fatally strangled aboard a northbound F train just before 2:30 p.m., according to police.
He reportedly started acting erratically on the train and harassing other passengers before being restrained and ultimately choked by a straphanger, identified as a 24-year-old marine from Queens.
The marine, who was seen on video applying the chokehold, was taken into custody and later released but the DA is mulling charges, which could include involuntary manslaughter, according to experts.
Fallout: The city medical examiner ruled Neely’s death a homicide, noting he died due to “compression of neck (chokehold).” This will be weighed during the investigation into whether charges will be brought for Neely’s death.
Neely’s aunt told The Post that he became a “complete mess” following the brutal murder of his mother in 2007. She noted he was schizophrenic while suffering from PTSD and depression.
“The whole system just failed him. He fell through the cracks of the system,” Carolyn Neely said.
Law enforcement sources said Neely had “numerous” arrests on his record, including for drugs, disorderly conduct, and fare beating.
At the time of his death, Neely had a warrant out for his arrest for a November 2021 case where he was accused of assaulting a 67-year-old woman in the East Village, the sources said.
Mayor Eric Adams has said it’s important for the DA to complete the investigation into Neely’s death and not rush to conclusions.
The city medical examiner ruled Neely’s death a homicide Wednesday and said his cause of death was “compression of neck (chokehold).” Prosecutors are mulling whether to press charges against the Marine who choked Neely.
Mayor Eric Adams, in a Wednesday night interview on “CNN Primetime,” said “our hearts go out to the family in this terrible incident.”
“And the district attorney, as you stated, the medical examiner’s office just ruled the case, and now it’s in the hands of the investigators to determine exactly what happened. There’s so many unknowns at this time,” the mayor said.
