Tessa Majors’ parents blast one of her assailants for his ‘lack of remorse’

Slain Barnard College freshman Tessa Majors’ parents blasted the teen involved in her murder for his “complete lack of remorse” in a statement read Monday as he was sentenced to 18 months in juvenile detention.

Assistant Corporation Counsel Rachel Glantz read the heartbreaking letter shortly before Judge Carol Goldstein handed down the term — the maximum under the law — to 14-year-old Zyairr Davis for his role in the Dec. 11 slaying during a botched robbery in Morningside Park.

“[We] dropped her off at Barnard College in New York City to begin her freshman year of college. One hundred days later, [we] brought her home to Virginia in an urn,” wrote Inman and Christy Majors, of Charlottesville, Virginia, who were not in the courtroom.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 health crisis, the lawyers, the judge and Davis appeared by video monitor in Manhattan Family Court. No family members from either side were present — just a handful of reporters. Davis, wearing a green T-shirt, wore a blank expression.

The grieving parents said Majors, an aspiring journalist and accomplished bass player, was “talented, kind, and a beloved daughter, sister, granddaughter.” They said that their grief at her sudden loss was compounded by “the incredibly violent nature of her death, which has been described in grisly detail” in Davis’ videotaped confession.

Inman and Christy Majors ripped Davis for his “complete lack of remorse or contrition.”

They criticized the language used in Davis’ June 3rd plea deal for avoiding the word murder and the defense team for downplaying their client’s role. “Some might wonder if Tess Majors was involved in an accident,” according to the statement. “Tess Majors did not die in an accident. Tess Majors was murdered. Plain and simple, and no amount of semantic gymnastics changes that fact.” Inman Major is a novelist and English professor at James Madison University.

“The Majors family has experienced their first Christmas without her, a holiday that will be forever tainted by sharing the month of her murder,” wrote the shattered parents. “Her absence is palpable and unrelenting.”

Defense lawyer Neville Mitchell said that Davis regretted his actions. “Our client was heartbroken when he found out she died,” the attorney said. “His behavior reflects a teenager, not some monster.”

As part of the deal, Davis copped to one count of first-degree robbery, admitting that he and two pals — Rashaun Weaver and Luciano Lewis, both 14 at the time — had tried to mug the 18-year-old student.

After she yelled for help, Lewis allegedly held Majors in a headlock while Weaver fatally stabbed her, sending the feathers of her down coat into the air.

Davis said the trio had gone to the park that night looking to rob someone, and that he had handed Weaver the knife before they’d spotted Majors.

Just 13 at the time of Majors’ killing, Davis was charged with felony murder as a juvenile.

The cases against Weaver and Lewis — who face murder and robbery charges as adults — are still pending in Manhattan Supreme Court.

“Ms. Majors was a bright, promising, and talented young woman who had just begun to explore life as a college student in New York City when she was tragically and senselessly murdered,” said Corporation Counsel James Johnson, whose office prosecuted the case. “While we have brought this portion of this horrific case to a close, we know that the pain of this loss will endure.”