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| How the Central Park 5 Case Looms Over the Tessa Majors Murder | How the Central Park 5 Case Looms Over the Tessa Majors Murder |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Hours after an 18-year old student at Barnard College was found stabbed and dying just outside Morningside Park in Manhattan, the police commissioner and two top chiefs gathered with detectives near the steep flights of stone steps where she had been attacked. | Hours after an 18-year old student at Barnard College was found stabbed and dying just outside Morningside Park in Manhattan, the police commissioner and two top chiefs gathered with detectives near the steep flights of stone steps where she had been attacked. |
| It was already clear that the killing of the student, Tessa Majors, in her first semester of college and new to New York City, was a heinous, high-profile crime that would demand the full resources of the police department. | It was already clear that the killing of the student, Tessa Majors, in her first semester of college and new to New York City, was a heinous, high-profile crime that would demand the full resources of the police department. |
| And it was just as plain to the police officials at the scene that the inquiry would be handled in the shadow of an investigation from a different time: the Central Park Five case, also known as the Central Park jogger case, from April 1989. Both concerned a young white woman attacked in a park and even younger teenage suspects who are black and Latino. | And it was just as plain to the police officials at the scene that the inquiry would be handled in the shadow of an investigation from a different time: the Central Park Five case, also known as the Central Park jogger case, from April 1989. Both concerned a young white woman attacked in a park and even younger teenage suspects who are black and Latino. |
| “The discussion was, we have to be very careful, not rush to judgment, because it’s absolutely going to be compared to the Central Park Five,” said a senior police official briefed on the investigation. | “The discussion was, we have to be very careful, not rush to judgment, because it’s absolutely going to be compared to the Central Park Five,” said a senior police official briefed on the investigation. |
| The legacy of the Central Park case, in which five teenagers were wrongly convicted of rape and attempted murder while the real attacker rampaged for months, has loomed over the inquiry into the murder of Ms. Majors from the moment she was found on Dec. 11, according to investigators, public officials and legal experts. | The legacy of the Central Park case, in which five teenagers were wrongly convicted of rape and attempted murder while the real attacker rampaged for months, has loomed over the inquiry into the murder of Ms. Majors from the moment she was found on Dec. 11, according to investigators, public officials and legal experts. |
| On the night of the killing, police officials took the unusual step of calling in prosecutors almost immediately to minimize any chance that investigators would repeat missteps made in the Central Park Five case, officials said. | On the night of the killing, police officials took the unusual step of calling in prosecutors almost immediately to minimize any chance that investigators would repeat missteps made in the Central Park Five case, officials said. |
| In addition, all the questioning of a 13-year old suspect was recorded on video, the police said — a practice not required or followed in the Central Park case. | In addition, all the questioning of a 13-year old suspect was recorded on video, the police said — a practice not required or followed in the Central Park case. |
| And whereas in 1989 prominent public officials spoke in outraged terms about what had been portrayed as a gang rape by teenagers, this time politicians quickly invoked the Central Park investigation as a cautionary tale of what can go wrong when passions overtake evidence. | And whereas in 1989 prominent public officials spoke in outraged terms about what had been portrayed as a gang rape by teenagers, this time politicians quickly invoked the Central Park investigation as a cautionary tale of what can go wrong when passions overtake evidence. |
| It later was proven that one man, Matias Reyes, had raped the Central Park victim — the second woman he had beaten and raped in the park that week. The wrongly convicted teenagers served seven to 14 years in prison before the truth emerged. | It later was proven that one man, Matias Reyes, had raped the Central Park victim — the second woman he had beaten and raped in the park that week. The wrongly convicted teenagers served seven to 14 years in prison before the truth emerged. |
| “People’s lives were destroyed because of the rush to judgment,” said Brian A. Benjamin, a black state senator whose Harlem district includes Morningside Park. “I just want to make sure that I’m not part of replicating that 30-year-ago situation in my lifetime because of the anger and the horror.” | “People’s lives were destroyed because of the rush to judgment,” said Brian A. Benjamin, a black state senator whose Harlem district includes Morningside Park. “I just want to make sure that I’m not part of replicating that 30-year-ago situation in my lifetime because of the anger and the horror.” |
| The killing of Ms. Majors has shocked the neighborhood and the Columbia University community, where generations of students have come and gone since the violent decades of New York from the 1970s to the 1990s. It has revived mostly forgotten rituals of candlelit memorials and communal gatherings to share grief over the loss. | The killing of Ms. Majors has shocked the neighborhood and the Columbia University community, where generations of students have come and gone since the violent decades of New York from the 1970s to the 1990s. It has revived mostly forgotten rituals of candlelit memorials and communal gatherings to share grief over the loss. |
| The delicate case is also the first big test for the new police commissioner, Dermot F. Shea, as his department faces intense pressure to bring the killers of Ms. Majors to justice without arresting the wrong people. | The delicate case is also the first big test for the new police commissioner, Dermot F. Shea, as his department faces intense pressure to bring the killers of Ms. Majors to justice without arresting the wrong people. |
| Asked about the influence of the Central Park Five on practices that investigators are using in the Majors case, Commissioner Shea declined on Thursday to directly respond. But he did say it was unusual to have a suspect so young accused of such a grave crime. | Asked about the influence of the Central Park Five on practices that investigators are using in the Majors case, Commissioner Shea declined on Thursday to directly respond. But he did say it was unusual to have a suspect so young accused of such a grave crime. |
| “I think it should disturb any New Yorker when we have a child involved in something this serious,” he said. | “I think it should disturb any New Yorker when we have a child involved in something this serious,” he said. |
| Studies have identified scores of wrongful convictions in New York State — and several thousand across the country — but few have had the lasting cultural purchase of the Central Park Five case. “Central Park Five,” a 2012 documentary by Sarah Burns, David McMahon and Ken Burns, and this year’s Netflix docudrama, “When They See Us,” by Ava DuVernay, made the 1989 case a touchstone. The city and state have paid the five men a total of $45 million to settle wrongful conviction lawsuits. | |
| Still, many in the police department defend the police work in the Central Park case and do not necessarily see it as miscarriage of justice, according to William J. Bratton, who has twice served as the city’s police commissioner. Even so, he said, the department’s leadership cannot ignore the consequences of the case. | Still, many in the police department defend the police work in the Central Park case and do not necessarily see it as miscarriage of justice, according to William J. Bratton, who has twice served as the city’s police commissioner. Even so, he said, the department’s leadership cannot ignore the consequences of the case. |
| “Certainly, in the investigative steps, the department will be more cautious because of the attention that was paid to the Central Park Five — everything they do is under the microscope,” Mr. Bratton said. | “Certainly, in the investigative steps, the department will be more cautious because of the attention that was paid to the Central Park Five — everything they do is under the microscope,” Mr. Bratton said. |
| In the three decades since the Central Park case, exonerations through DNA evidence have shown that some people, particularly vulnerable teenagers, confess to crimes they have not committed, and that racial bias is often at the root of wrongful convictions. | In the three decades since the Central Park case, exonerations through DNA evidence have shown that some people, particularly vulnerable teenagers, confess to crimes they have not committed, and that racial bias is often at the root of wrongful convictions. |
| That awareness permeates the Majors investigation. “There’s enormous angst about the age of the kids,” said Mark Levine, whose City Council district covers the park. | That awareness permeates the Majors investigation. “There’s enormous angst about the age of the kids,” said Mark Levine, whose City Council district covers the park. |
| The 13-year-old boy who was questioned in the Majors case told investigators he and two classmates tried to rob Ms. Majors on a staircase in Morningside Park, the police said. He said one of the boys, who is 14, stabbed Ms. Majors when she put up a fight. | The 13-year-old boy who was questioned in the Majors case told investigators he and two classmates tried to rob Ms. Majors on a staircase in Morningside Park, the police said. He said one of the boys, who is 14, stabbed Ms. Majors when she put up a fight. |
| Ms. Majors, a musician and aspiring journalist, had moved to New York in the summer from Charlottesville, Va., to begin her first year of college. A security guard found her at the top of the stairs after the stabbing. | Ms. Majors, a musician and aspiring journalist, had moved to New York in the summer from Charlottesville, Va., to begin her first year of college. A security guard found her at the top of the stairs after the stabbing. |
| In the hours after her death, investigators found a grainy surveillance video that showed young boys running from the park toward 116th Street shortly after the attack. Overnight, they tracked the boys on video to their homes. The police confiscated several knives from the boys’ homes, though none has turned out to be the murder weapon. | In the hours after her death, investigators found a grainy surveillance video that showed young boys running from the park toward 116th Street shortly after the attack. Overnight, they tracked the boys on video to their homes. The police confiscated several knives from the boys’ homes, though none has turned out to be the murder weapon. |
| The 13-year-old was not at home when police found him — an officer spotted him on the street after recognizing his clothing from surveillance images. When the boy noticed the officer, he darted into a building he didn’t live in, where the officer took him into custody on suspicion of trespassing. | The 13-year-old was not at home when police found him — an officer spotted him on the street after recognizing his clothing from surveillance images. When the boy noticed the officer, he darted into a building he didn’t live in, where the officer took him into custody on suspicion of trespassing. |
| The boy’s uncle, who is his legal guardian, was summoned to the precinct and was present when investigators questioned the boy. | The boy’s uncle, who is his legal guardian, was summoned to the precinct and was present when investigators questioned the boy. |
| According to Detective Wilfredo Acevedo, the boy said that he and his friends went to the park to rob people and followed a white man up the park steps, but decided not to rob him. | According to Detective Wilfredo Acevedo, the boy said that he and his friends went to the park to rob people and followed a white man up the park steps, but decided not to rob him. |
| A little while later, Ms. Majors — hair dyed green, wearing a purple jacket — came along. The 13-year-old said he was two steps behind when his companions approached her. One of the older boys had dropped a red-handled knife, so the 13-year-old picked it up and had handed it back to him. | A little while later, Ms. Majors — hair dyed green, wearing a purple jacket — came along. The 13-year-old said he was two steps behind when his companions approached her. One of the older boys had dropped a red-handled knife, so the 13-year-old picked it up and had handed it back to him. |
| When they accosted Ms. Majors, she refused to give them anything and yelled for help. She fought back, biting the finger of one boy. Then the boy with the knife stabbed her. The 13-year-old said he saw feathers coming out of her jacket. | When they accosted Ms. Majors, she refused to give them anything and yelled for help. She fought back, biting the finger of one boy. Then the boy with the knife stabbed her. The 13-year-old said he saw feathers coming out of her jacket. |
| The police also questioned a 14-year-old boy, accompanied by his mother and lawyer, but released him after he declined to answer questions. | The police also questioned a 14-year-old boy, accompanied by his mother and lawyer, but released him after he declined to answer questions. |
| A third boy, 14, who the authorities believe stabbed Ms. Majors, is still being sought. | A third boy, 14, who the authorities believe stabbed Ms. Majors, is still being sought. |
| In the Central Park case, five boys, ages 14 through 16, were wrongly convicted entirely on flawed confessions that they said were given under duress. | In the Central Park case, five boys, ages 14 through 16, were wrongly convicted entirely on flawed confessions that they said were given under duress. |
| Partly for that reason, the 13-year-old boy’s confession has already received particular attention in court. His Legal Aid Society lawyer, Hannah Kaplan, suggested that he was browbeaten and yelled at by a detective without a lawyer present. | Partly for that reason, the 13-year-old boy’s confession has already received particular attention in court. His Legal Aid Society lawyer, Hannah Kaplan, suggested that he was browbeaten and yelled at by a detective without a lawyer present. |
| Rodney Harrison, the chief of detectives, said the investigators were scrupulous about making sure that a guardian was present. But experts say that many parents are ill-equipped to be advocates for their children’s rights during interrogations. | Rodney Harrison, the chief of detectives, said the investigators were scrupulous about making sure that a guardian was present. But experts say that many parents are ill-equipped to be advocates for their children’s rights during interrogations. |
| Jan Ransom and Edgar Sandoval contributed reporting. | Jan Ransom and Edgar Sandoval contributed reporting. |