Teen Charged With Manslaughter "Self-Defense" Stabbing

The 16-year-old girl who stabbed and killed a man she claimed had groped her near the 21st Street-Queensbridge subway station was hit with first-degree manslaughter and weapons possession charges that could put her behind bars for 25 years, according to the Times. Cyan Brown turned herself in yesterday after hiding out with relatives following the Dec. 24 incident, which left 29-year-old aspiring rapper Thomas Winston dead.

Brown's family has defended the high school sophomore, arguing that she only pulled the knife after Winston and a group of five to seven men began harassing her, and one of them tried to force himself on her. But police sources told the Daily News that the teen instigated the altercation. "She was the main aggressor, without a doubt."

Cops — like Winston's family — now say that the incident began when a male friend of Brown's bumped into Winston on an F train at the 21st Street-Queensbridge station. Winston and his friends asked the man to apologize, sparking a dispute that spilled out of the subway station and onto the sidewalk in front of a restaurant, the tabloid reports. Brown, who according to earlier reports was on her way to the eatery, got involved. "She takes over, gets mouthy," the source said. "She reaches in her bag, takes out a weapon, lunges at him and cuts him." According to police, Brown then fled onto an F train as Winston's friends chased her. Investigators initially believed the teen's self-defense claims, but grew skeptical of some parts of the account.

Relatives of Winston — an aspiring rapper who had been arrested multiple times and lived in nearby shelter — say he was turning his life around following the birth of his daughter. "When you stab somebody in the heart it should be murder first-degree," said his aunt, Diane Greenspan. "I hope justice will be served."

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By Ben Muessig in News on December 30, 2009 11:43 AM

Comments [rss]

theLtrain

This isn't even the first time this year someone was stabbed and killed for bumping into someone else

http://gothamist.com/2009/09/28/man_fatally_stabbed_outside_farley.php

Jon Claw

New York City: Where you can defend yourself, just don't do it until it's too late!

hashashin

Whether murder is "first degree" has nothing to do with what weapon is used or where someone is stabbed. This wasn't a premeditated attack (nor any of the other qualifiers for first degree murder).

NannyState

Several days later and still no victim...

HBHB

It's still ghetto bullsh*t. If I had a nickel for every time I bumped into someone on the subway I'd be a rich man. That's what this is all about, someone bumped into someone on the subway. And it still clearly states that the Black Box crew were the instigators demanding an apology. Just keep walking.

Bernie Madoff-Goetz

So it still racist to call Cyan Brown a colored girl?

/s

verbal

This is awful - we were so close to having a real hero in our midst, and now just more thug on thug violence. Oh well rest assured there will be a street naming in the not too distant future...

marcasm

The family would have a better chance of getting "Black Box Boulevard" if she had stabbed him 49 more times.

Gwinny

... right, and if the dude had a fake wedding coming up the next day and had been coming from a strip club. Also, it would've helped if he'd also been a drunk driver.

JacqueMehoff

that's what I've been tellin you b'fore!

now who was the guy who bumped into the victim?

Bizzle

Finally! A turn in a story that gives some "Holier Than Thou" commenters to have a soapbox.

You no longer have to build your own.

lostinnny

I heard the man she killed was an aspiring raper, not rapper.

mocanlagunas

Ha! Nice! Isn't it the same thing?

BklynsFinest

Reading this story and last week's blizzard of support for the woman who did the stabbing before the commentors had any facts in this case, and now seeing the police name that woman as the cause of the incident. I realize the value of gothamist. Thanks gothamist for being the flypaper to all the crazed trolls, uninformed gadflies and general nuts in nyc.

Spirit of 76

Not everybody praised the girl. Some of us merely said that based on the accounts at the time, including one from an MTA worker and a quote from an unnamed cop, it appeared to be self-defense. That was bolstered by reports that the dead man had a lengthy police record. We're willing to accept that the reported facts are now different and keep our minds open for any forthcoming revelations. For all we know, even this isn't the final version of the story. And contrary to what some believe, this wasn't reported by the Post either initially or today, but by the Daily News.

I wouldn't sling accusations that Gothamist only attracts the crazies if I were you, seeing as how you're commenting, as well.

FelixtheCat & Christine Quinn'

HELLO, it was based on the New Joke Post which never gets a story right. What the hell is Vivian Delgado doing over there? And people who did support this girl supported her based on the information provided. The situation still remains that MTA doesn't call the police and/or intervene in any way. I only see cops near the turn styles waiting for fare beaters. No cops on the train, on cops on the platform and MTA doesn't call cops for assistance. What the hell???

Ishtar

Yeah...it's totally insane how this young woman caused this entire incident to escalate to the point of a stabbing by forcing Winston, the upstanding citizen that he is, to demand an apology for being bumped.

homeopt

Gothamist, through Jen Chung, has taught us that even asian chicks can have big ol' titties, if you got enough money

GOP

Black on black crime. Blame rap music. And teen pregnancy. And no-show dads. And promiscuous moms. And lack of birth control. And failed rhythm method (not rap related). And slavery.