A THIRTEEN-year-old boy has been reportedly been arrested and charged in connection with the murder of college student Tessa Majors, who was fatally stabbed in Morningside Park earlier this week.
The teen was caught on Thursday afternoon trespassing in a building wearing clothes that matched the description of the suspect, according to ABC New York.
NYPD divers were seen searching a pond in Morningside Park for evidence on Friday morning.
Cops arrested the juvenile for criminal trespass and found a knife on him during a search, though it’s unclear if that was the murder weapon, police sources told ABC.
He appeared in court Friday, where the arresting officer reportedly testified that the boy wasn’t the actual killer, but picked up the knife and gave it to an accomplice.
The teen, who is from Manhattan’s Harlem neighborhood, allegedly mentioned two other possible suspects who are believed to be 14 years old – and law enforcement officials are currently investigating that lead, police said.
One of the suspects is reportedly in custody and being questioned by cops but they haven’t been arrested or charged, police said.
The teen admitted his involvement in the attempted robbery and stabbing, police told CNN on Friday – but there have been several conflicting reports about his purported admission.
CBS New York initially reported the boy confessed to cops that he and two friends murdered the 18-year-old from Virginia – a crime that has shaken city and campus leaders.
But the New York Times and ABC New York say police sources told them he made statements implicating himself while he was being held by cops.
Authorities say that the 13-year-old’s statements allegedly confirm what detectives viewed on video surveillance footage.
Investigators are reportedly looking into a possible theory that the suspects were looking to rob another person and then tried to mug Tess Majors, who resisted and was killed in the struggle, law enforcement sources say.
A spokesperson from the NYPD declined to elaborate on additional details when approached for comment by The Sun.
UNDER New York state law, the teen can only be tried as an adult if he is charged with intentional murder.
Juveniles convicted in New York state’s family courts can be sent to detention facilities until they are 21 in many cases, and are often released after that.
It’s increasingly rare for young teens to be charged with murder in New York City – where the homicide total has plunged to below 300 in recent years.
Last year, just two people 14 or younger were charged, according to police records: a 13-year-old girl in a Decemver 16, 2018, killing in Queens and a 14-year-old in the fatal September 21, 2018, shooting of a 16-year-old boy in Brooklyn.
Police suspect both killings were gang related.
In the early 1990s, when the city averaged nearly 2,000 homicides a year, several dozen 13-year-olds faced murder charges.
The developments come after Maxwell Majors, the slain student’s younger brother, shared a heartbreaking tribute to his sister the day after the news of her horrific murder.
He said a final farewell to his “best friend and sister” on Thursday in an emotional Instagram post.
“Rest in peace to the best sister and friend someone could ask for,” he captioned a photo of him and Tessa smiling together as young children.
“I love you tessa rane.”
Tessa’s family mourned her on Thursday, according to BuzzFeed News, saying “We lost a very special, very talented and very well-loved young woman.”
Barnard College President Sian Beilock sent an email to the student body following the tragic incident, telling students this was an “unthinkable tragedy that has shaken us to our core.”
“We mourn this devastating murder of an extraordinary young woman and member of our community. This is an unthinkable tragedy that has shaken us to our core,” wrote Beilock.
“Please know that we are all grieving together and I am thinking of you as we process this awful news as a community.”
Authorities say Majors was walking down a flight of steps into Morningside Park in upper Manhattan when she was approached by a group of three or four young men.
The men allegedly tried to rob her before one of them stabbed her multiple times in the stomach with a knife at around 5.30 pm on Wednesday evening.
As the men fled the scene, Majors attempted to climb the steep walkway to a nearby Columbia University guard booth for help – but the guard was allegedly absent at the time.
A trail of blood was found in and around the park where the young woman had tried to find help after her brutal encounter, sources say.
After being found unconscious around 30 minutes later, she was taken to Mount Sinai St. Luke’s Hospital, New York, where she died.
This is an unthinkable tragedy that has shaken us to our core.
Sian Beilock
Authorities discovered a woman’s hat, a butterfly knife and an uncharged phone near Majors’ unconscious body.
Columbia University Vice President for Public Safety James McShane said reports of the unattended security booth were incorrect in a letter to students and staff.
“It is important to note that the public safety officer assigned to the guard booth located at 116th Street and Morningside Drive was at his post last night when Tessa Majors emerged from the park and he came to her aid immediately upon recognizing that she was injured,” he wrote.
“We understand that the media has reported that the guard booth was unattended but those reports are inaccurate. Public safety officers stationed at this location do not make rounds that cause them to leave their post.”
Although crime rates in the area near Barnard College and Columbia University have dramatically decreased over the last two decades, residents are concerned about persistent crime in the formerly drug-addled Morningside Park.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison said Thursday that the department has implemented strategies to combat the crime problem in the park as well as its surrounding areas.
He added that the NYPD has also upped patrolling in and around the park, as well as the nearby colleges including Barnard.
Earlier this year, multiple people claimed they’d been ambushed and punched by young people in the park, the West Side Rag reported.
Several teenagers had been arrested in pattern of robberies in the area, police told the Times.
As of Sunday, there had reportedly been 20 robberies inside or near Morningside Park.
“It’s terrifying to think that could happen anywhere,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio at a press conference on Thursday.
“It’s unbelievable to me that this could happen here, next to one of our great college campuses.”
