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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
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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