U.S.

Department of Justice
Vincent H. Cohen, Jr.
Acting United States Attorney for the
District of Columbia
Judiciary Center
555 Fourth St. N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20530

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, October 9, 2015

For Information Contact:

Public Affairs
(202) 252-6933
http://www.justice.gov/usao/dc/index.html

District Man Pleads Guilty to Second-Degree Murder While Armed

For Shooting Friend and Setting His Body on Fire
Defendant Made a Video Talking About Plans to Commit Murder
WASHINGTON Zacchaeus Zack Blanding, 19, of Washington, D.C., pled guilty
today to charges stemming from the shooting death of his friend, Heineken McNeil, Acting U.S.
Attorney Vincent H. Cohen, Jr. announced.
Blanding pled guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to second-degree
murder while armed. He is to be sentenced on Dec. 11, 2015, by the Honorable Rhonda Reid
Winston. The plea, which is contingent on the Courts approval, calls for a sentencing range of
18 to 26 years in prison, the exact amount of time to be determined by the judge.
According to the governments evidence, on Tuesday, June 23, 2015, at approximately
5:25 a.m., the District of Columbia Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services was
sent to the alley behind the 1200 block of Holbrook Terrace NE. The fire department was
dispatched due to a fire involving brush, a melting trash can, and a dead human body. There were
small flames approximately one to two feet high around the body and brush. The body of Mr.
McNeil, 19, was later transported to the District of Columbia Office of the Chief Medical
Examiner, where an autopsy was performed. Two bullets that were removed from the head
appeared to be from a small caliber firearm. The cause of death was determined to be gunshot
wounds to the head and the manner of death was by homicide.
During the course of the investigation, Blanding was interviewed by homicide detectives
from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). During these interviews, he admitted to
shooting Mr. McNeil and then setting his body on fire.
The investigation revealed that in June 2015, Mr. McNeil lived with Blanding in
Blandings apartment in the 1200 block of Meigs Place NE. On or about June 21, 2015,
Blanding decided to kill Mr. McNeil. He video-recorded himself with his cell phone on June 21,

2015, at approximately 9:17 a.m., saying, This is going to be the last video Ill ever make. I
plan on killing three people my best friend, my mother and her girlfriend . . . After the
murder, Blanding told detectives multiple times that Mr. McNeil was his best friend.
Approximately 24 hours after the video was recorded, on or about the morning of June
22, 2015, Blanding shot Mr. McNeil twice in the head with a .22-caliber firearm inside
Blandings bedroom. He then wrapped the body in a blue blanket. Blanding then made multiple
trips throughout the day on June 22 to conceal the murder he just committed. He went to a
nearby store and bought duct tape to secure the body. On his way back to his apartment, he
found a large garbage can, which he dragged into his apartment. He placed Mr. McNeils body
in the garbage can and dragged the can into the back alley of his apartment building. The body
remained in the garbage can most of the day.
Later that same day, Blanding made another trip to another store to buy shoes and
returned to his apartment. He also went outside for a while in an attempt to play off that he
had just committed a murder. On another trip from his apartment, he went to an Auto Zone and
purchased a gas canister. He then returned to his apartment again and took a nap. Later that
evening, he went to a neighboring gas station and filled the gas canister with gas.
At approximately 5:23 a.m. on June 23, 2015, almost 24 hours after he killed Mr.
McNeil, Blanding went into the alley, where the body was still concealed in the garbage can. He
doused the body in gasoline and then set it on fire. He left the body to burn where the Fire and
Emergency Medical Services located it. Blanding was arrested on July 8, 2015, and has been in
custody ever since.
In announcing the guilty plea, Acting U.S. Attorney Cohen commended the work of the
detectives of the Criminal Investigations Division Homicide Branch, crime scene officers, and
the Third Police District of the Metropolitan Police Department. He also expressed appreciation
for the work of the FBI, the D.C. Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services and the
D.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. He acknowledged the efforts of those who worked
on the case from the U.S. Attorneys Office, including Jennifer Clark and Jennifer Allen of the
Victim/Witness Assistance Unit; Paralegal Specialist Vanessa Trent-Valentine; Investigative
Analyst Zachary McMenamin, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Macey. Finally, he praised
the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Shana Fulton, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
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