Boy, 14, is charged with MURDER for 'stabbing 18-year-old college student Tessa Majors to death during a botched robbery in a Manhattan park'
- Rashaun Weaver, 14, has been charged over the stabbing murder of Tessa Majors on December 11
- Weaver faces two counts of murder and will be tried in court as an adult
- Cops allege Weaver repeatedly plunged the knife into Majors while two other teens stood and watched
- Another teen, 13, is already in custody over Majors' death - believed to have robbed her and to have witnessed the stabbing
The NYPD has charged a 14-year-old boy over the stabbing death of Tessa Majors (pictured), more than two months after she was stabbed in Manhattan's Morningside Park
The NYPD has charged a 14-year-old boy over the stabbing death of Tessa Majors.
Rashaun Weaver was taken into custody late Friday and charged with two counts of murder, more than two months after the gruesome slaying shocked New York City.
In addition to the two murder charges, one intentional and one felony, Weaver also faces four robbery charges.
At a press conference on Saturday afternoon, NYPD Police Commissioner Dermot Shea revealed that Weaver will be tried in court as an adult.
He also revealed that Weaver was the same teen suspect who went on the run while he was wanted for questioning.
Weaver's arraignment is scheduled for Wednesday.
Cops allege 18-year-old Majors, a freshman at the prestigious Barnard College, was confronted by a group of three teens as she walked through Morningside Park on the evening of December 11, before she was stabbed in a botched robbery.
Rashaun Weaver was taken into custody late Friday and charged with two counts of murder, more than two months after the gruesome slaying shocked New York City
Prosecutors allege Weaver is the one who repeatedly plunged the knife into Majors as she cried for help.
During Saturday's press conference, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance also revealed tragic new details about Majors' final minutes. He stated she lay conscious and heavily bleeding as bystanders waited for an ambulance.
Her last known words were believed to be: 'Help me! I'm being robbed!'
Meanwhile, a 13-year-old boy is already being held in custody over the robbery of Majors - however it is believed he watched the events unfold, and was not responsible for the actual stabbing of Majors.
A third minor suspect has not yet been formally arrested or charged.
Majors was an aspiring musician and a freshman at the prestigious Barnard College, located near Morningside Park
The charges come nearly two months after the gruesome slaying shocked New York City. Pictured: The stairs upon which Majors was stabbed
Tessa was stabbed at these stairs in Morningside Park, on the Upper West Side, in December last year
Speaking on Weaver's arrest at a press conference on Saturday, Commissioner Shea stated: 'What we can do is say that we are confident that we have the person in custody who stabbed her, and that person will face justice in a court of law'.
He added: Sadly, [this] cannot bring back this young woman. That is something even the best, most impartial investigation simply cannot do.'
District Attorney Vance stated that there is substantial evidence that proves Weaver stabbed Majors.
He stated that there is: 'Video evidence, blood evidence, smartphone evidence, iCloud evidence, witness identification, and the defendant's owned statements that were rigorously collected and examined'.
According to the complaint provided to DailyMail.com on Saturday, Weaver is accused of conducting a separate mugging in Morningside Park four days prior to Majors' murder.
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According to that mugging victim, Weaver and two other boys confronted him on the night of December 7 and stole his iPhone. Just hours later, the iPhone was connected to an iCloud account in Weaver's name.
The mugging victim later identified Weaver from a photo line up. Additionally, the 14-year-old was seen on surveillance camera wearing the exact same outfit during both his alleged December 7 mugging and his alleged December 11 stabbing of Majors.
The charges come nearly two months after the gruesome slaying shocked New York City. Pictured: The stairs upon which Majors was stabbed
WATCH LIVE as Police Commissioner @NYPDShea and Manhattan District Attorney @ManhattanDA make a law enforcement announcement. pscp.tv/w/cRgbejF4blFy…
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Meanwhile, the complaint declares that, on December 11, the three suspects initially followed a man through the park, before they turned their attention to Majors.
At 6.47 pm, a witness 'heard a male voice from the area [believed to be Weaver] say [to Majors]: 'Run your s**t. Gimme your phone. You got some weed, gimme that too.'
The witness then heard a female scream, 'Help me! I'm being robbed!'
Surveillance footage shows Majors later stagger up the Morningside Park steps to reach a security gate. She lay conscious and bleeding before she was rushed to a nearby hospital.
She was pronounced dead at 7.23 pm - meaning there was more than half an hour between the time of the attack and her death.
Weaver was the suspect who fled from a car five days after Majors' murder, while on his way to meet with police for questioning. It sparked an intensive ten-day manhunt, before Weaver was tracked down at a family member's home in The Bronx.
Police believed his family was hiding him until a mark on his hand healed. After being tracked down and interviewed, he was released.
The murder sent shockwaves through Manhattan, with many saying the violent incident was reminiscent of 1970s and 1980s crime in New York
Meanwhile, police say the 13-year-old boy who was arrested in relation to the robbery of Majors will be tried in a family court.
He has allegedly confessed to being part of the group who was present when she was stabbed, but said he stood and watched as it happened.
At a pre-trial hearing last month, police officer Randys Ramos Luna testified how he tracked the boy down.
He had watched a grainy surveillance video of three young teens leaving the park shortly after the murder took place and, according to The New York Post, thought they must be students at a nearby middle school in Harlem.
He went to a residential area near the school and found the 13-year-old, who reportedly confessed to watching the stabbing take place.
The murder sent shockwaves through Manhattan, with many saying the violent incident was reminiscent of 1970s and 1980s crime in New York.
Police union chiefs blamed Bill de Blasio for it, saying he is making it difficult for regular cops to crack down on street crime.
The NYPD also faced accusations of 'victim blaming', after the police union chief claimed Majors may have been in the park seeking to buy marijuana.
Majorts had only moved to New York City just a few months before she was murdered
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