A Centereach, New York, man pleaded guilty in Suffolk County Court on Friday to binding, beating and killing a 16-year-old in 2019, before covering the body up with debris in a sandpit, then wrapping the remains in two plastic bags.
Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney made the announcement, saying John Mann IV, 20, pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter of Henry Hernandez, 16, of Hempstead.
John Mann IV pleaded guilty to manslaughter in Suffolk County Court on March 17, 2023 (Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office)
Hernandez’s remains were found in Centereach in March 2020.
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“The violent end of this young victim’s life and the way his body was disposed of shows the cold-hearted and brutal nature of the defendant,” Tierney said. “What makes this murder even more sad is that the victim, Henry, was only 16 years old and had his whole life ahead of him.”
The DA’s office said in a press release that according to court documents and Mann’s admissions to the judge, a plastic tube was discovered on the property of the suspect’s neighbor’s property, and inside were skeletal remains wrapped in two separate plastic bags.
After an examination of the skeletal remains, investigators discovered duct tape was used to bound the hands and feet and wrap the head and mouth.
Inside a courtroom with gavel in plain view. (iStock)
A further examination involving DNA tests revealed the skeletal remains were linked to Hernandez.
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Police learned during the investigation that Mann and Hernandez became acquaintances in March 2019. Not too long after the two met, Hernandez stole Mann’s father’s truck from his home on Jay Road in Centereach.
Mann then lured Hernandez to a location known to locals as the “Sand Pit,” on June 2, 2019, where he duct-taped the victim and struck him multiple times with an object before putting the body in a hole and covering it with debris.
Hernandez’s body was later moved into a plastic tub by Mann and put on his neighbor’s property where it was recovered in March 2020.
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On Friday, Mann pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and tampering with physical evidence.
He is expected to be sentenced on April 19 and faces 20 years in prison plus five years of post-release supervision.
