Photos: Jordan Neely, known for his Michael Jackson dance moves killed in chokehold on NYC subway

Before Jordan Neely was killed on a New York City subway car this week, he was known for his swift Michael Jackson dance moves that entertained many — yet he struggled with the trauma his mother’s murder had left him with at an early age.

“He told me about how much his mother’s passing impacted him. 

He disclosed that she was murdered, and her body was put in a suitcase,” Moses Harper, an artist who knew Neely, reported. 

Harper and Neely became friends quickly after they met in 2009. 

When she took him under her wing, Neely opened up to her about how hard it was losing his mother as a young teenager. 

“It traumatized him. He was not expecting that, the brutal way she was taken. That had a big impact on him. The brutality behind that, that traumatized him,” Harper told CNN. 

“This kid has cried in front of me. That hurt him in his heart.” 

On Monday afternoon, Neely was killed after being held in a chokehold by a Marine veteran on a subway after Neely got on the train and shouted at passengers that he was hungry, thirsty and fed up with having nothing. 

A witness told CNN Neely – who was experiencing homelessness, according to a source familiar with his case – did not harm anyone nor did they see him armed with any weapon. 

An attorney for the veteran on Friday identified him as Daniel Penny, 24. 

“Daniel never intended to harm Mr. Neely and could not have foreseen his untimely death,” the law firm of Raiser and Kenniff, P.C. said in a statement. 

“We hope that out of this awful tragedy will come a new commitment by our elected officials to address the mental health crisis on our streets and subways.” 

The 30-year-old’s death was ruled a homicide, but it does not mean there was intent or culpability, which is a matter for the criminal justice system to consider, a spokesperson for the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said. 

Culled From CNN.