Overview
- Deliberations are expected to begin Thursday after closing arguments in the case over four 2019 killings of men sleeping on Manhattan streets.
- Randy Santos, 31, has pleaded not guilty to four counts of first-degree murder and other charges tied to attacks in Chinatown.
- Defense attorneys say Santos, diagnosed with schizophrenia, acted under commanding voices telling him to kill 40 people or die, supporting a not‑guilty‑by‑reason‑of‑insanity claim.
- Prosecutors argue he knew the acts were illegal and immoral, citing surveillance of him avoiding witnesses, initial lies to police, a prior similar assault, and his statement that “it’s not a good action.”
- Santos was arrested shortly after the rampage holding a bloody metal bar; if convicted he faces life in prison, while an insanity verdict would trigger involuntary-commitment proceedings, the judge instructed.