The defense in the Daniel Penny trial will not take a position in the death of Jordan Neely on the New York subway

NEW YORK — The defense in the Daniel Penny murder case rested Friday, and its client did not take the stand.

The judge will hold a plea conference with attorneys on Monday to discuss his instructions to the jury.

The jury is on recess until Thanksgiving, when the trial will resume with closing arguments, instructions and deliberations from the judge.

Earlier in the day, a forensic pathologist was on site and questioned by the prosecutor’s office.

Prosecutors want to question his credibility after Dr. Satish Chundru, an expert from Texas, concluded Thursday that Jordan Neely could not have died of suffocation.

He said Neely died from the “combined effects” of synthetic marijuana, schizophrenia, fighting and restraint, and a blood disorder that can lead to fatal complications during exercise.

Penny’s attorney also suggested that Neely was psychotic and high on K2, which triggered a sickle cell crisis that led to a lack of oxygen and caused his death.

Chundru’s testimony stands in stark contrast to the findings of Dr. Cynthia Harris, the city medical examiner who performed Neely’s autopsy.

At the beginning of the trial, she told jurors that Neely suffered “death by asphyxia” as a result of being strangled. She called it “deeply unlikely” that Neely’s death was caused by synthetic marijuana use and sickle cell disease, which is related to but not synonymous with sickle cell disease.

Harris said there was “unanimous consensus” in the medical examiner’s office that Neely died of asphyxiation, adding: “There are no alternative, reasonable explanations.”

The prosecution rested on Monday morning and the defense began presenting its case on Monday afternoon.

They called Penny’s mother, sister, fellow Marines as witnesses, a forensic psychiatrist to testify about Neely’s psychiatric history, and a forensic pathologist Thursday morning.

Penny faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.