NEW YORK — A 21-year-old Long Island man faces life in prison for fatally stabbing a 16-year-old high school student, at the time his classmate, at a mall several years ago, prosecutors say.
Tyler Flach, of Lido Beach, was sentenced to 25 years to life on Tuesday for the September 2019 stabbing death of Khaseen Morris, who was a 16-year-old recent transfer student at Oceanside High School at the time of her murder.
A jury found Flach guilty of murder, gang assault, assault and criminal possession of a weapon on November 1 last year after a trial lasting about two weeks. They deliberated for about a week before reaching a verdict.
According to court records, Morris had only attended Oceanside High School for 10 days before he was killed on the afternoon of September 16, 2019. Prosecutors say Flach and others got out of the car. Flash to Avenue Brower in Oceanside shortly before 4 p.m. that day and attacked Morris, along with several of his friends. According to authorities, it was apparently an after-school fight over a girl outside a pizzeria in the business district.
At one point, Flach stabbed Morris in the heart. The teenager’s heart stopped beating. Trauma doctors were able to revive Morris once he arrived at the hospital, but he died that night in September. It was about eight hours after the stabbing.
Flach surrendered to police two days later. Most of the charges against him were related to Morris’ death. He was also convicted of assault for breaking another teenager’s arm.
“Khaseen Morris was smart, friendly and had a smile that could light up a room,” Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said in a statement Tuesday. “The young man was only 16 and had just transferred to a new high school, where he was making friends. The defendant, furious that Morris had walked a girl home, organized a group and drove to a local mall with the intention of attacking Morris.”
“Tyler Flach stabbed Morris in the chest and killed the young man,” Donnelly continued. “This was an incredibly senseless murder, and I thank our prosecutors, Nassau County Police Department detectives and jurors who participated in this trial for carefully reviewing the evidence. We continue to support family, friends and the community of Khaseen as they mourn his passing.”
A co-defendant, Haakim Mechan, was sentenced last week to three years in prison with three years of post-release supervision after pleading guilty to attempted second degree gang assault.