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14-year-old charged with murder in stabbing death of New York college student

A woman walks past a makeshift memorial for Tessa Majors on the Barnard College campus in New York.
A woman walks past a makeshift memorial for Tessa Majors on the Barnard College campus in New York.
(Associated Press)
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A 14-year-old has been arrested in the fatal stabbing of a Barnard College student in a Manhattan park in December, authorities said Saturday.

The male suspect has been indicted by a grand jury and was taken into custody Friday night without incident, New York City Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said at a news conference. Shea said the teen was charged as an adult with second-degree murder and robbery in the attack on 18-year-old Tessa Majors.

“We are confident that we have the person in custody who stabbed her,” Shea said. “And that person will face justice in a court of law.”

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The boy’s attorney at Harlem Neighbor Defender Service did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Majors was stabbed as she walked through Morningside Park early the evening of Dec. 11. She staggered up a flight of stairs to street level and collapsed in a crosswalk.

The attack came two days before the start of final exams at the all-female school, which is part of the Ivy League’s Columbia University.

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The suspect’s arraignment is set for Wednesday, officials said.

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