Daniel Penny spends Thanksgiving with family as jury prepares to deliver manslaughter verdict over subway killing

Daniel Penny’s family said they were left in awe at his strength as he spent Thanksgiving with them despite a jury in New York preparing to deliberate his manslaughter case. 

The marine’s mother Gina Flaim-Penny said the family were focusing on being grateful for what they have, telling the New York Post: ‘We’re blessed and grateful for everything we do have. We have each other.’ 

Daniel reportedly gathered at his maternal grandmother’s home to mark the occasion, alongside his mother and his younger sister Taylor Penny, 24, while other family members Facetimed into the meal. 

‘My parents love him so much. He always goes to visit them,’ Flaim-Penny added, saying they spent the holiday the same way they would have any other, by playing games. 

Monday will see prosecutors rest their case in Penny’s month-long trial over the death of schizophrenic homeless man Jordan Neely in May 2023 on a Manhattan subway. 

While Penny claims he acted in self-defense and in defense of other passengers after Neely terrorized their subway car and threatened them, prosecutors say he overstepped into vigilantism and criminally killed Neely with a chokehold. 

Although they spent thanksgiving together as a family, the Penny’s admitted the consequences weighed on them. Daniel’s eldest sister Jackie Penny, 27, told the outlet that it was hard to ignore the fact that ‘there is a lot on the line’, with a verdict possible as early as next week. 

‘Our brother’s fate will essentially be decided. Ultimately we trust that whatever happens is God’s will. We will get through it together,’ she added. 

Penny put Jordan Neely in a chokehold after the homeless man threatened passengers on a subway car 

Neely’s death on the subway car last spring sparked racial tensions in the Big Apple as groups such as Black Lives Matter sought to paint Penny as an overzealous Marine veteran targeting a black man. 

However, the national attention on the trial has seen many conservatives question why Penny was even charged. 

Witnesses on the train said Neely threatened to kill passengers and lunged at a woman with a baby in a stroller, which is what led Penny to step in and put him in a chokehold to subdue him. 

Despite his newfound fame across the nation, Penny’s family said the veteran has been ‘so strong throughout all of this.’ 

‘When this initially happened, there was a lot of attention and it’s really scary and uncertain. It makes you want to recede and hide. But his strength has encouraged us,’ Jackie said. 

Daniel’s younger sister Katie Penny, 22, added to the Post: ‘He’s just very calm and I give him credit because it’s not easy. He is putting everything in God’s hands.’ 

The 22-year-old gave birth nine months ago to a daughter, Aurora, and said the arrival of Daniel’s niece brought out ‘this beautiful side of him and it makes me so happy. My daughter just loves him.’ 

Flaim-Penny said she has been coping with the stress by focusing on her work as a teacher’s assistant and a caregiver for a woman with dementia. 

‘If I don’t have anything to do, yeah I start thinking and I don’t want to go there because Danny doesn’t want us to be that way,’ she said.

Penny’s family said despite facing 15 years in prison they are in awe at how he as been ‘so strong throughout all of this’ 

Penny’s sister Jackie said this week: ‘Our brother’s fate will essentially be decided. Ultimately we trust that whatever happens is God’s will. We will get through it together’

Jordan Neely was a schizophrenic homeless man who was previously a Michael Jackson impersonator 

Neely’s death on the subway car last spring sparked racial tensions in the Big Apple as groups such as Black Lives Matter sought to paint Penny as an overzealous Marine veteran targeting a black man

Katie said the case against her brother is just another example of him stepping up when people needed help, and said: ‘Danny’s always been a good big brother. It takes me back to the things he used to do for me growing up.’ 

She recalled instances from their childhood including when, as a first-grader, she almost pulled out of a school talent show because she didn’t want to dance alone. Then Daniel, a fifth-grader, stepped up. 

‘It was like an hour before the show, and without hesitation, he said, ‘I’ll dance with you so you don’t have to do it alone,” she recalled. 

‘From that day on, he meant so much more to me that just being a big brother. I truly look up to him. I always have and I always will.’ 

with Daniel’s fate looming, she summed up the feelings of the family: ‘I think we’ve been good with holding it together. Behind closed doors, everyone has their moments. All we can do is wait.’