A 16-year-old has been charged in the murder of New York City college student Tessa Majors in December 2019. Luchiano Lewis, one of the three teens charged in the stabbing of Majors in Morningside Park, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder as well as charges of first and second-degree robbery. Lewis is due back in court on Oct. 18.
Lewis, who appeared in court wearing a dark suit and tie, rushed through his allocution where he stated that he did not realize Majors died during the incident until the following morning when he recognized her as the female they had tried to rob. He recalled having seen feathers come out of her winter coat but was not aware she had been stabbed and killed.
"I assumed Rashaun had a knife on him, but using a knife was not part of our plan,” Lewis narrated.
According to ABC News, the accused teenager said the whole botched robbery was Rashaun Weaver’s idea. Weaver, who was 14 years old at the time, was indicted by a grand jury and taken into custody in 2020, has pleaded not guilty. This despite DNA evidence recovered under Majors’ fingernail that implicated Weaver in her murder.
On top of this, prior to his arrest, Weaver allegedly confessed to his father, Clifford Weaver, during a conversation that was picked up on a recorded prison phone line. The senior Weaver is currently being held at the Mohawk Correctional Facility on a parole violation.
Weaver has been charged as an adult in the fatal stabbing of Majors and legally represented by noted criminal defense lawyer Jeffrey Lichtman. In an interview outside of court, Lichtman stated that his client’s actions are not to be confused with premeditated murder citing the individuals involved are merely “13-year-old boys, and we should remember that.”
Another juvenile suspect in the Majors case is 13-year-old Zyairr Davis who has pleaded guilty and is now serving his sentence. The teenager pleaded guilty last year to charges of first-degree robbery and was sentenced by the judge to detention for a period of 18 months.
Prosecutors have come to conclude their allegations on how the three teenagers came upon the then 18-year-old Majors who was a freshman at Barnard College. They were said to be looking for people to rob when they chanced upon Majors on the fateful day in December 2019.
The 13-year-old told detectives that his friend “dropped a knife” while he had Majors in a chokehold. He then picked up the knife and handed it back to his friend then saw his friend stab Majors. Police and prosecutors said Weaver had wielded the knife, and Lewis believed he "threw it in the sewer" right after stabbing her.
Majors was found dead near a staircase in the park where she died from multiple stab wounds. She had collapsed on the street level of the staircase after trying to crawl up the flight of stairs.
