Tyler Flach found guilty of murdering 16-year-old Khaseen Morris outside Long Island strip mall
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MINEOLA, N.Y. -- The verdict is in for Tyler Flach, three years after a deadly after-school brawl that killed an Oceanside teenager.
Flach didn't deny he mortally injured 16-year-old Khaseen Morris, but claims he didn't intend to kill.
As CBS2's Carolyn Gusoff reports, this wasn't a whodunnit. It was a crime witnessed by dozens of people, captured on multiple videos, and yet the jury struggled through five days of deliberations.
They had choices: Murder or manslaughter, and asked for their definition more than once. In the end, they agreed unanimously to the top count - intentional murder.
The decision came after an agonizing wait for a verdict for the family of Morris, and you could see their relief in their hugs and tears, Gusoff reported.
Morris was killed in a prearranged high school brawl. The jury was stuck on whether it was intentional murder or just reckless - the lesser charge of manslaughter.
Three years after the knife-wielding then-18-year-old took Morris' life, Flach looked pale and rubbed his face after the jury announced he was guilty of murder. Morris's family sobbed in relief.
His sister colored her hair bright orange in memory of her beloved brother.
"You went there intentionally to to murder my brother. You targeted my brother, and you murdered him and now you got what you deserve," Keyanna Morris said.
Flach is now 21. In 2019, he was one of eight teens who attacked Morris and others at an Oceanside strip mall, settling a score of a jealous friend because Morris had walked a girl home from a party.
The defense argued Flach didn't intend to kill Morris.
"I believe we had lots of convincing evidence to show that this was punches, and punches with a knife in hand, and very sadly one had pierced the chest," said defense attorney Edward Sapone. "My heart also goes out to the victims family, there are no winners, both sides lost today and back in 2019."
The prosecution argued it was an intentional pursuit and death the natural consequence of stabbing someone in the chest. Morris was described as a gentle, vibrant teen.
"It's not a day to celebrate. It's a day to remember what this wonderful family has been going through for three years. It's a day to remember Khaseen and what a good person he was, and didn't deserve this," said Nassau District Attorney Anne Donnelly.
"We did not deserve to lose someone so dear and special. We lost of piece of us, but today I feel like my baby gained his wings," Keyanna Morris said.
"It's a good feeling. Justice. Justice was in our favor," father Bryan Morris said.
Jurors seemed to grapple with Flach's intent. Intentional murder carries a far longer sentence than lesser manslaughter charges.
"Difficult. We wanted to make the right decision," one juror said.
Prosecutors called it a life lost over nonsense, asking the jury to hold Flach accountable.
With this verdict, he could spend the rest of his life in prison. Sentencing is December 14.
Reaction outside the courthouse
The jury reached its decision Tuesday morning -- three years after the deadly after school brawl that killed an Oceanside teen.
Tyler Flach didn't deny he mortally injured Khaseen Morris but claimed he didn't intend to kill him.
As CBS2's Carolyn Gusoff reported, the crime was captured on multiple cellphone and surveillance videos and witnessed by more than 50 people, yet the jury grappled with the decision for nearly five days.
They had the choice between intentional murder and the lesser crime of manslaughter, and they asked over and over again for their definitions.
In the end, they chose the highest count of intentional murder.
Jurors grappled for days with the question -- was the killing of 16-year-old Morris in this prearranged strip mall brawl intentional murder or manslaughter that's just recklessness?
Their finding of murder left the victim's family gasping with relief in the courtroom. His sister, with her hair died his favorite color of orange, spoke outside.
"Everybody was able to see it. You went there intentionally to do more than cause harm. You went there intentionally to murder my brother. You targeted my brother, and you murdered him. And now you got what you deserve," Keyanna Morris said.
Flach rubbed his eyes and looked very pale as the jury announced the verdict.
"I'm a human being with a heart, and a big one at that, and I'm very sad and disappointed, that's the truth. But I have to stay the course, because I don't have the luxury of sulking, I have to get to the office and start preparing sentencing arguments," his attorney Edward Sapone said outside. "The reason I was confident is that the jury notes were the kind of ones that would lead one to believe that they were really paying attention to our argument that this was reckless, this was manslaughter in the second degree."
In 2019, an aspiring rapper, Flach was one of eight teens who attacked Morris and others at an Oceanside strip mall, settling a score for a jealous friend because Morris had walked a girl home from a party.
The defense argued Flach didn't intentionally stab Morris but was punching him with a knife in his hand and one punch went awry.
The prosecution argued at least two stab wounds proved it was an intentional pursuit of Morris, death the natural consequence of stabbing someone in the chest.
Ten minutes of video enabled the jury to see from multiple angles the 51 seconds that ended the of a vibrant teen.
Intentional murder carries a far longer sentence than the lesser manslaughter charges, and that's what the jurors were grappling with.
Gusoff spoke with them as they were leaving court, but they did not want to give any insight. One just said they wanted to make sure they made the right decision.
Prosecutors told them it was a life lost over nonsense and asked them to hold Flach accountable. He now faces 25 years to life when he is sentenced on Dec. 14.
Guilty of highest count
CBS2's Carolyn Gusoff is at the courthouse, where she reports Flach has been found guilty of the highest count against him -- murder.
The case in court
Flach's lawyers did not deny he dealt the deadly blow. Instead, they argued he did not intend to kill Morris.
"Tyler Flach had no reason to intentionally take the life of this young man... One of punches, very sadly, pierced the chest of this man, only half a length of the knife," defense attorney Edward Sapone said.
Prosecutors, however, said, "it's murder and it's nothing else." They argued Flach "chose to cover his face" and "armed himself with a knife."
"The intent when you plunge a knife into the part of the body that allows you to live is murder," prosecutors added.
The deadly brawl was caught on camera back in September 2019 outside a strip mall in Oceanside.
Authorities said Morris had walked a girl home from school, prompting the jealousy-fueled melee.
Flach, who is now 21 years old, has been behind bars for three years and could spend the rest of his life there if convicted of murder. If convicted instead of manslaughter, the penalties start at five to 15 years.
Six of the other defendants in the brawl pleaded guilty to lesser charges in the attack. Charges are still pending against one other defendant.