Tessa Majors was stabbed to death in Morningside Park on December 11

The 13-year-old suspect in the Tessa Majors murder claims he did not take part in her killing and that he was standing 10ft away when it happened.

The boy did not speak at a probable cause hearing in a Manhattan family court room on Tuesday, but NYPD Detective Wilfredo Acevedo recounted what he'd told police in his confession.

He said the teenager was accompanied by two older, 14-year-old boys, when they attacked Tessa on December 11 in Morningside Park.

The youths first thought about mugging a man, then set their sights on Tessa.

In the attack the 13-year-old boy claimed he picked up the red-handled knife that another one of the youths dropped and handed it to one of them.

Then they approached Majors and announced they were robbing her, but she refused to hand over her property, the boy said to Acevedo.

The 13-year-old boy said he was standing about 10 feet away and saw the stabbing unfold. The judge at yesterday's probably cause hearing however said that because he was so close to the incident and had facilitated it, he should be charged with murder too.

Police are still looking for a 14-year-old who bolted from his relative or lawyer's car as he was being driven to talk to detectives on Sunday at 4pm.

A third 14-year-old, who also apparently took part in the attack, has not been charged. It is unclear if he is the same 14-year-old who was arrested and then released without charge over the weekend or not.

He was named by the 13-year-old boy in custody. That boy was accompanied in court by his aunt and uncle, his legal guardians following the death of his mother.

He yawned at times during the proceedings. He was arrested last week, the day after Tessa's death, on trespassing charges but started talking about the murder.

Members of the NYPD watch the corner of Morningside Avenue and W 123rd Street in upper Manhattan as manhunt continues for the second 14-year-old involved in the killing Tessa Majors. A 13-year-old boy and 14-year-old boy were arrested in the case so far

One of the 14-year-olds grabbed Majors from behind and the two rifled through her pockets and took a small plastic bag away from her.

During the scuffle, Majors fought back and yelled for help. She bit one boy’s finger, another officer said last week.

One of the boys who was holding the knife then stabbed her in the torso and slashed her in the face. As the stabbing took place, feathers from her jacket burst from the coat and fluttered onto the ground. After the robbery the boys fled.

At Tuesday's probably cause hearing investigators said they have grainy video footage that shows a scuffle at the bottom of the steps at the park where Majors was attacked.

The footage, taken from a camera on top of a security booth on Morningside Drive, shows a person 'making poking motions toward the victim', Det. Acevedo said.

That footage provides a view of the robbery from a southeast angle and does not show the 13-year-old touching Ms. Majors or taking anything from her.

A police officer responding to a radio call for a robbery in progress said she found Majors lying face down in the street.

Officer Ena Lewis testified that Majors was wheezing for breath and had lacerations on her face and stab wounds to her body.

Then Majors stopped breathing, Lewis said. The officer said she started CPR and kept at it until they got to a hospital, where Majors was pronounced dead.

Crime scene where Tessa Majors was fatally stabbed in Morningside Park in Morningside Heights pictured above

At the moment the case rests on the confession of the 13-year-old boy and videos of the three teens entering and leaving the park.

The 13-year-old is not accused of stabbing Majors, but a judge ruled that there is probable cause to proceed with felony murder and robbery charges against him.

Judge Carol Goldstein ordered him detained at least through the end of the year. Another hearing is scheduled for Jan. 2. If convicted he could be sent to a detention facility until he is 21.

On Tuesday the boy's aunt and uncle appeared in court.

'The court finds there is a serious risk for reoffending,' Goldstein said, rebuffing arguments from the boy's lawyer that he has a strong support system with his aunt and uncle at home, good school attendance and no behavioral problems.

Majors' death has troubled city and college leaders for its proximity to campus, its unusual nature, and the young age of the suspects.

During the hearing in Family Court public defender Hannah Kaplan cast doubt on the reliability of the boy’s statement suggesting detectives may have pressured him and blasted police for questioning him without having a lawyer present.

The organization representing the boy, the Legal Aid Society, cautioned 'against any rush to judgment that would only cause additional harm to the Harlem and Barnard communities.'

'Our client is a 13-year-old child who is presumed innocent with no juvenile record,' the Legal Aid Society said in a statement. 'History is full of examples of high profile cases tried in the media, rushing law enforcement to a wrongful arrest and conviction.'

As Kaplan questioned Det. Acevedo she pointed out that the 13-year-old told officers repeatedly in his interview that the did not know his friends were going to rob Majors.

'He told you it about 10 times, is that correct?' she asked. That is correct,' the detective replied.

Majors, an 18-year-old from Charlottesville, Virginia, was a freshman at Barnard College. She played in a rock band in New York, had green hair, and aspired to take journalism classes in college.

She was stabbed while walking in the park just before 7pm, two days before the start of final exams at Barnard, an all-women's school that is part of the Ivy League´s Columbia University. The city's medical examiner said Monday she died from wounds to the torso.

People pause and place a candle at a make-shift memorial for Tessa Majors inside the Barnard campus on Thursday

At that time of night, the detective said, the park was 'extremely dark,' with none of the lamp posts lit up.

NYPD was able to track the three boys to their residences using video from the scene.

At those residences officers recovered knives, but it's not clear if those blades were used as the murder weapon. A folding knife with a four-inch blade were also found in the park and are currently being tested for DNA and fingerprints.

Earlier this week police union chief Ed Mullins said Majors went to the park to buy marijuana but her family disputed that account calling it 'deeply inappropriate'.

One of the 14-year-olds was arrested but when investigators tried to interview the teen with his lawyer and mother present, he invoked his right to remain silent and was released, three of the officials said to the New York Times.

Under New York State law, prosecutors cannot win a conviction against someone solely on testimony of someone else who also participated in the crime. Corroborating evidence is needed for a conviction.

Police are still hunting for the second 14-year-old suspect, who cops believe is the one who launched the stabbing.

That teen was on his way to meet with detectives on Monday but jumped out of the car, launched a massive manhunt in Harlem.

The hearing on Tuesday was to determine if there was enough evidence to allow the case to go forward, a step in Family Court procedure for juveniles akin to a grand jury hearing.

The defense argued the case should be dismissed claiming the 13-year-old was not involved in the stabbing or in possession of any weapon nor had a criminal record.

But a lawyer representing the city, Rachel Glantz, noted that the boy told investigators that the group intended to rob people. The boy had picked up a knife his friend dropped, Ms. Glantz said, and returned it to him 'with the understanding the knife would be used in the course of a robbery.'

Judge Goldstein ruled there was enough evidence to proceed with prosecution as a 'juvenile delinquent' in Family Court as he's facing a charge of felony murder.

She said the boy’s statements to the police showed that 'he intended to commit a robbery' and noted that the boy had picked up 'the knife that was ultimately used to stab the victim.'

A fact-finding hearing will take place next and must start within two weeks of his first court appearance.

The fact-finding hearing will take the place of a trial in criminal court where the city Law Department serves as the prosecution and a Family Court judge will decide the case instead of a jury.

In Family Court, a youth found guilty of committing a crime receives a juvenile adjudication and a disposition which is essentially the equivalent of a 'sentence' in criminal court.

The penalty for the teenager can be up to 18 months in a juvenile facility or up to five years in a restricted placement facility depending on the charge.