Tyler Flach jurors ask for testimony from Khaseen Morris' friends in fatal Oceanside stabbing

Jurors on Thursday asked to hear eyewitness testimony from Khaseen Morris’ friends read back to them and to see a photo of the shirt he was wearing when he died in a 2019 afterschool brawl, during the third day of deliberations in his accused killer’s trial.

But the panel didn’t reach a verdict in the murder case against Tyler Flach before acting state Supreme Court Justice Howard Sturim ended the day’s proceedings.

“You’ve had a full day. I’m going to let you go for the night,” he told jurors about 4:30 p.m.

A lawyer for Flach, 21, of Lido Beach, conceded during the Nassau County Court trial that his client fatally stabbed Morris, 16.

But the attorney, Edward Sapone, said Flach did it recklessly and not intentionally during the encounter in an Oceanside strip mall parking lot on Sept. 16, 2019.

He asked jurors in his closing argument Tuesday to convict his client of second-degree manslaughter and second-degree gang assault, instead of second-degree murder and first-degree gang assault.

Prosecutors contend Flach is guilty of murder and say he meant to kill Morris when he plunged a knife into his heart, stabbing the Oceanside High School senior in the chest area at least twice.

Prosecutor Ania Pulaski said in her closing argument that Flach killed Morris “in a matter of minutes” after his knife pierced the teenager’s heart.

A court reporter on Thursday read back testimony from four of Morris’ friends, including one who suffered a broken arm in the fight, after the jury sent its only note of the day to the judge before lunch.

The jurors specifically asked for testimony focused on the time right before the stabbing.

That was when, prosecutors say, Flach and his eight friends arrived in his vehicle from Long Beach and ran up to a Mercedes-Benz where Morris was hanging out with a group of his Freeport friends — kicking off the brawl.

Trial testimony showed the prearranged fight was sparked by friction with the jealous ex-boyfriend of a girl whom Morris walked home from a party, a teenager who battled beside Flach in the melee.

The top penalty for second-degree murder is 25 years to life in prison, compared with a maximum punishment of 5 to 25 years for first-degree manslaughter and 5 to 15 years for second-degree manslaughter.

All three of those charges are listed on the verdict sheet.

Jurors will start their fourth day of deliberations at 9:15 a.m. Friday.