Arrest Made in NYC Subway Stabbing Death of Gay Man

An NYC man with a history of violence has reportedly confessed to the subway stabbing death of a gay man who was the victim of an anti-LGBTQ+ hate crime last year.

Claude White, 33, was taken into custody by police and charged with the murder of Tavon Silver, 32, on the Brooklyn-bound No. 4 train in Manhattan around 4 a.m. Saturday, June 17, 2022. Silver was discovered slumped over and going in and out of consciousness by a fellow passenger who alerted the conductor at the next stop.

At his arraignment on Tuesday, Assistant District Attorney Victoria Meyer accused White of fatally stabbing Silver following a dispute over a drug deal gone wrong. Meyer told the court Silver had agreed to give White some cocaine in exchange for the drug KS, the New York Post reports. The two argued after Silver allegedly reneged on his end of the bargain and a fight ensued. White allegedly held Silver down on the floor with his knees on the victim’s shoulders before repeatedly plunging his knife into Silver’s body.

“So the defendant reached for a knife and he plunged it into Mr. Silver’s body while his 300-plus-pound body sat on top of Mr. Silver,” Meyer told the court. “He stabbed Mr. Silver twice in the chest, exposing his stomach and then ultimately puncturing his heart.”

Following the attack, White allegedly rummaged through Silver’s pockets and removed the drugs he had given the victim. He reportedly told police he threw his bloody sweatshirt and knife into the tunnel after exiting the train before “casually and callously” asking a stranger on the subway platform for a light so he could smoke the drugs he had taken back from Silver.

Silver was taken to Bellevue Hospital where he later died of his injuries without regaining consciousness. White was apprehended Monday after he was caught allegedly jumping a turnstile at Union Station.

“Officers were literally working around the clock to find this male to end his threat and to provide justice to the victims,” Chief of Transit Michael Kemper said at a press conference announcing the arrest.

Friends said Silver had moved to New York City from Connecticut to live out and proud as a gay man.

“That’s where he found his happiness,” family friend Amy Walker, 33, told the New York Daily News. “He changed his whole style. He didn’t want to be the same as everybody else. ‘If this is my style, I’m gonna rock my style.’”

Silver was also the victim of a suspected hate crime last June, suffering a severe stab wound to the wrist allegedly from a man yelling anti-LGBTQ+ slurs.

Runadieo Jordan, 52, is currently awaiting trial in that case. He has been charged with assault as a hate crime, criminal possession of a weapon, and aggravated harassment as a hate crime. Jordan allegedly attacked Silver at 1 a.m. on Wednesday, June 7, on a Wakefield-bound No. 2 train because Silver was playing his music too loud.

“Turn the music down, f****t!” Jordan allegedly yelled before stabbing Silver in the wrist.

“Next thing I know, like, I had a hole in my arm. Like blood was gushing everywhere,” Silver told WNYW from his hospital bed last year. “It was one straight cut, and he took a giant chunk of my wrist. He literally cut my wrist off. So, like, if you look straight through, you can see my bone.”

Jordan has a July court appearance scheduled in that case.

White has a lengthy rap sheet, including a guilty plea for the 2013 robbery and stabbing of a homeless man in a wheelchair. White received a six-year prison sentence for the attack, that left the victim’s muscle exposed. White’s parole officer at the time warned he was a danger and noted his history of skipping drug rehab programs.

White was charged with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon. If convicted of all charges, White could face 25 years to life in prison.