A 16-year-old girl is facing manslaughter charges in connection with a subway stabbing her family said was in self-defense.
Queens officials announced today the girl faces charges of first-degree manslaughter and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
"She said she feared for her life and she felt like she was going to be raped, so she panicked,'' Tony Lovitt said of his teenage daughter, Cyan Brown. "She tried to run away, but another gentleman grabbed her."
The incident happened on Christmas Eve and police said they received a 911 call reporting a man stabbed inside of an F train station in Queens. Thomas Winston, 29, was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
Erika Brown said her daughter was on a short trip to the chicken and pizza restaurant down the street from their home when a group of men chased her onto a subway train and tried to fondle her.
The tearful girl called her older sister, 21-year-old Lynnea Adams, a few hours later and told her that a man had tried to push himself on her, and that she had pulled out a knife, Adams said.
"She didn't mean for that to happen, but at the same time she had to protect herself,'' she said.
The defendant is expected to be arraigned tomorrow in Queens Criminal Court. She faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
