NYC subway victim Jordan Neely was a Michael Jackson impersonator with autism ... trends now
Jordan Neely was a street performer strangled to death by a former Marine who put him in a chokehold on the New York City subway on Monday.
Neely, 30, was a famous Michael Jackson impersonator and often seen across the city dancing in a red Thriller leather jacket and the popstar's quintessential loafers.
According to his family, he suffered from autism and schizophrenia and was permanently scarred by the murder of his mother, Christine Neely, in 2007.
He was just 14 at the time and in the following years fell victim to homelessness and tried and failed multiple times to live with his father.
According to the New York Daily News, he was arrested 42 times in the last decade.
'The whole system just failed him. He fell through the cracks of the system,' his aunt Carolyn Neely told the New York Post.
Jordan Neely (pictured), 30, was a street performer strangled to death by a former Marine who put him in a chokehold on the New York City subway earlier this week
Neely, 30, was a famous Michael Jackson impersonator and often seen across the city dancing in a red Thriller leather jacket and the popstar's quintessential penny loafers
Neely's aunt spoke of her sister's death and described its impact on her nephew.
'My sister Christie was murdered in '07 and after that, he has never been the same.
'It had a big impact on him. He developed depression and it grew and became more serious. He was schizophrenic, PTSD. Doctors knew his condition and he needed to be treated for that,' Carolyn said.
A family friend told the newspaper that Neely 'suffered so much because of what happened to his mother. She was his sole support. His father sure wasn't.'
Jordan Neely's mother, Christie, was strangled to death by her boyfriend in 2007. She was described as an 'ageless beauty' by her father
That friend said he tried to live with his father on multiple occasions but the pair did not get along.
In 2012, Neely was called to testify in the murder trial against the man who murdered his
