Man Pleads Guilty to Fatal Beating of 16-Year-Old Whose Remains Were Found in Plastic Tub

John Mann IV, a 20-year-old from Centereach, recently pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter for the premeditated fatal beating of Henry Hernandez, a 16-year-old from Hempstead.

Hernandez’s skeletal remains were discovered in Centereach in March 2020. Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney remarked on the brutal nature of the crime and the tragic fact that the victim was only 16 years old.

In March 2020, skeletal remains were found in a plastic tub that was located on the property of Mann’s neighbor. The remains were wrapped in plastic bags, with the hands and feet bound and the head and mouth covered with duct tape. DNA tests confirmed that the remains belonged to 16-year-old Henry Hernandez.

A police investigation uncovered that Mann and Hernandez became acquainted in March 2019. Shortly after, Hernandez stole Mann’s father’s truck from his Centereach home on Jay Road.

On June 2nd of 2019, Mann lured Hernandez to a location where he was restrained with duct tape and struck multiple times. Mann initially hid Hernandez’s body in a hole and covered it with debris. He later moved the remains to a plastic tub and placed it on his neighbor’s property, where it was discovered on March 15, 2020.

On March 17, 2023, Mann pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter, a Class B violent felony, and tampering with physical evidence, a Class E felony, before Acting Supreme Court Justice Anthony S. Senft, Jr. Mann is scheduled for sentencing on April 19, 2023, and is expected to receive a 20-year prison sentence followed by five years of post-release supervision.