Nagee Green has been found guilty for second degree murder.

September 28, 2017

Ithaca Man Found Guilty of Murder on Cornell’s Campus

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Nagee Green was found guilty of second-degree murder in the case of Anthony Nazaire, a 19-year-old Ithaca college student who was murdered on Cornell’s campus last August.

Local outlets reported that the verdict was delivered on Thursday afternoon after a retrial from June, which failed to reach a unanimous verdict.

At the trial in June, the jury found Green guilty of assault, but they were unable to reach a consensus about murder, which led to the retrial. Jury selection for this retrial began in mid-September.

Pertaining to the retrial, District Attorney Matthew Van Houten told The Sun that it was worth the wait to have certainty about the verdict.

“Obviously, having done the trial twice, the issues were clear to the jury and they were able to see exactly what happened and not be confused or misled by any of the arguments to the contrary,” he said.

Deliberation for the verdict delivered Thursday lasted less than 8 hours, Van Houten told The Sun.

“We’re very pleased and we’re very satisfied that justice was done — that the jury got it right this time,” he said.

The sentencing will occur on Nov. 6. The prosecution asked for consecutive sentences of seven years on the assault and 25 to life on the murder conviction. Van Houten said he expects the defense to appeal.

“We’re going to recommend the maximum,” Van Houten said.

Van Houten said he has been in touch with the family of Nazaire. “They are elated. They feel that justice has been done and they have been so appreciative of our work.”

“We’re just happy that they’ve gotten some closure,” he said of the family.

Attorneys for Green declined to comment immediately following the verdict.

The murder occurred Aug. 28, 2016, when Nazaire was fatally stabbed in front of Olin Hall. Nazaire was attending a party hosted by Cornell fraternity Omega Psi Phi.

Nazaire’s family said in August 2016 they believed Nazaire and a friend bumped into someone while leaving the event, leading to the altercation with Green, The Sun previously reported.

Cornell University Police Department then found that two men — later identified as Anthony Nazaire and Ithaca College student Raheim Williams — were stabbed in front of Olin Hall when responding to a report of a fight at approximately 1:57 a.m.

Nazaire was then transported to Cayuga Medical Center where he was later pronounced dead. Williams was flown to Upstate Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.

Green, an Ithaca resident, was detained three months after the murder after the police sorted through “hundreds” of leads, The Sun previously reported. He was accused of stabbing Williams three times in the back and stabbed Nazaire in the chest.

After Green was arrested and held in the Freeville police barracks, investigators reportedly interrogated him for hours, during which time investigators told him he would “come across as a liar” and that he will “look like a monster” in the eyes of the public if he doesn’t confess.

Following Green’s arrest in November, Nazaire’s family demanded a life sentence and said they were “not satisfied” with the charges levied against him.

“What I want for [Green] is life in jail because my son will never be able to see the sun shine,” Nazaire’s mother Katie Toussaint told The Sun last November. “He will never be able to walk this earth anymore, but this criminal, he gets to live, he gets to be sleeping in a comfortable bed, he gets food, you understand? He gets to speak to his loved ones.”

At a 10-day long trial in June, Green was found guilty of felony second-degree assault for stabbing Williams. Williams survived the assault and testified at the June trial.

Jury deliberation in June lasted four days, The Ithaca Voice reported.

The jury was hung in June for the murder charges against Nazaire, with 10-2 in favor of the conviction charge, according to The Voice. Evidence presented in the June trial included Snapchat videos from that night and the knife allegedly used for the stabbings.