New York City, NY – A Harlem man is facing murder and criminal possession of a weapon charges after allegedly fatally stabbing his great uncle. However, his attorney claims that the 23-year-old acted in self-defense and that he and his family had been living in fear of the victim.
Nehemiah Terry-Peterson was arrested by police on Friday evening, following the discovery of his great uncle, Simon Beverly, with a stab wound to his torso. The incident took place in the home they shared on West 151st Street in West Harlem. Despite Terry-Peterson’s arrest, his attorney, Elizabeth Fischer, stated that there is surveillance footage to support his claim of self-defense.
According to Fischer, Beverly had been wielding a large butcher knife and barged into Terry-Peterson’s bedroom early Friday morning. The attorney argued that the footage is clear and that this was not a criminal act committed by Terry-Peterson.
The office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and Terry-Peterson has not yet been arraigned by prosecutors. In recent years, self-defense cases in New York City have drawn significant attention, with the district attorney’s office dropping charges against individuals who claimed to have acted in self-defense.
These cases include the dropping of murder charges against a bodega worker and the dismissal of manslaughter charges for a man who fatally stabbed a fellow passenger. These instances have sparked discussions around the use of self-defense in the city and may have implications for Terry-Peterson’s case.