Attacker found guilty of assault after stabbing Ithaca College students
But the jury deadlocked on murder and manslaughter charges
The man charged with murdering Ithaca College student Anthony Nazaire has been convicted of assault.
A jury found Nagee Green guilty of assault – but was unable to reach a verdict on the charges of manslaughter and murder.
Nazaire was tragically stabbed to death outside an Omega Psi Phi party at Willard Straight Hall in August of last year. He tragically passed away a few hours later at Cayuga Medical Center. His friend Rahiem Williams, also an Ithaca student, was stabbed as well but survived his injuries.
Nazaire, courtesy of his Facebook
Nazaire’s death shocked both the Cornell and Ithaca College communities. Students were left stunned by a tragedy only a week into the fall semester, right on campus – the incident occurred next to the famed McGraw Tower.
Two months later, Nagee Green, a resident of Freeville, New York, was arrested for the stabbing of Nazaire and Williams. Green was brought into custody on November 7th, 2016, and formally indicted ten days later on November 17th. Nazaire’s family described Green as “an animal” and called for a life sentence.
Green, courtesy of the Ithaca Police Department
On Monday, June 19th, a jury found Green guilty of assault, yet they were unable to reach a verdict on manslaughter and murder charges.
Judge John C. Rowley said the jury “had the same position since Thursday” and “no further deliberation is going to change this.”
Green’s lawyer, Joseph Joch, believes a lack of substantial evidence will prevent a jury from convicting Green of more serious charges, as Nazaire’s DNA was not found on Green’s knife and most of the video evidence came from unsteady Snapchat videos.
But District Attorney Matthew Van Houten remains confident in the possibility of Green getting convicted of either murder or manslaughter. He said: “We are ready to try the case again and we believe the judge will give us a trial.”
A meeting is scheduled on July 21st between Judge Rowley, Van Houten, and Green’s defense team to discuss the possibility of another trial.