Mamadou Diallo, 61, was arrested in May for killing a man who was attempting to rape his wife, Nenegale. Diallo, a native of Guinea, was charged with manslaughter after using a tire iron to kill the would-be rapist, a 43-year-old ex-convict named Earl Nash.
According to police, Nash entered the couple’s apartment around 10 p.m. on May 30 and struck Nenegale in the head with a chair. He then tore off her clothes, reports the Daily Mail.
Nenegale managed to fight off her attacker long enough to call her husband, who was outside the building in the cab he drove for a living. Moments later, surveillance video captured Diallo bashing in the rapist’s head with the tire iron.
Remarkably, in a letter to prosecutors, Earl Nash’s family wrote that they were praying for the victim’s recovery, and asked that Diallo be cleared of all charges. They noted in the letter that Nash was schizophrenic.
Their request was fulfilled Sept. 7 when Bronx Supreme Court Justice Marc Whiten agreed to dismiss all charges, after which the courtroom erupted in cheers from Diallo’s family and friends.
As reported by WABC, District Attorney Darcel Clark told the court: “This case was a tragedy for all whose lives intersected in that Bronx building on the night of May 30, 2016 … We waited for three months for the autopsy results, and after a thorough investigation as well as discussions with the deceased’s family we have determined that no grand jury action is warranted.”
After being exonerated, Diallo told the New York Post: “I do not want to kill that man I’m not happy because I know a man died and I know they put my name with somebody who died.”
Binta Diallo, his 30-year-old daughter, thanked the Nash family for their role in getting the charges against her father dismissed. “We feel sorry for their son and we really appreciate it. … I’m hugging my dad the whole day. I’m so happy.”