Jordan Neeley’s death was a direct result of the chokehold Daniel Penny held him in, a medical examiner testified Friday, rebutting assertions from the defense team that the former Marine did not apply enough pressure to kill the subway rider and that his death could have had some other cause.

Medical examiner Cynthia Harris ruled Neely’s May 2023 death a homicide by compression of his neck, due to the chokehold Penny placed him in on the floor of an uptown F train. On Friday, she testified that the chokehold provided the only reasonable explanation for Neely’s death.