DC police make arrest in burned body case

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Police have arrested a 19-year-old man and charged him in the death of another man whose body was found burning in a trash can in northeast Washington.

Police said Wednesday that they have arrested Zacchaeus Blanding of northeast and charged him with killing 19-year-old Heineken McNeil. McNeil’s body was found burning in a trash can in the 1200 block of Holbrook Terrace NE on June 23. An autopsy later determined he had also been shot.

Police Chief Cathy Lanier said at a news conference that it was initially believed that the homicide was a result of an ongoing feud between northeast neighborhoods and that belief sparked other violence. But Lanier says police now know it was not the result of a feud but that Blanding and McNeil knew each other.

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