A Michigan man was arraigned Tuesday on charges related to the death of a man he admitted dismembering with a chainsaw after an argument between the two turned deadly, police said.
Anthony Shawn Blamer Jr., 29, of Fremont, is charged with mutilation of a dead body and concealing the death of an individual, according to WZZM 13 in Grand Rapids. He is being held on a $100,000 cash bond.
Blamer is charged in the death of D’Anthony Keenan, 28, of Muskegon, who police said died Friday.
The news station reported that court documents show the men first met last year while serving short jail sentences. They got reacquainted last week on Facebook and made plans to meet up Friday night at a local car wash.
The records indicate that Blamer and Keenan got into an argument about money, at which time Blamer told investigators Keenan pulled a gun and they fought over the weapon.
Blamer alleged that the gun went off during the fight, the bullet striking Keenan in the head, WZZM 13 reported. He told detectives that he drove Keenan's SUV, with his body inside, to a carpool lot in north Muskegon County and left it there.
He told investigators that he returned Saturday with a chainsaw he bought at Walmart, the news station said. After dismembering Keenan’s body, he left part of it in the Manistee National Forest in Newaygo County, authorities said.
Visitors to the area found Keenan's torso in the Crystal Trails area of the forest shortly after 6 p.m. Saturday, officials with the Newaygo County Sheriff's Office reported. Investigators began looking for Keenan's SUV, which was later found at the carpool lot, and asking residents in the area for any trail camera footage they had of the Crystal Trails area.
They also looked at Keenan's Facebook page, where they discovered that he had been messaging Blamer in the days before his death, WZZM 13 reported. Blamer was taken into custody without incident Monday afternoon during a traffic stop in Newaygo County.
When questioned by police, Blamer confessed to getting rid of Keenan's body and burning other evidence in his death, the news station said. Records indicate that he gave detectives directions to the swamp where he disposed of the chainsaw he used.
He also led them to an area of Oceana County, where they found a bag containing Keenan’s head and hands, the court documents said.
Keenan's sister, Nakeyda Haymer, told MLive that investigators prepared the family Tuesday morning for the details of his death. She said she felt "numb" to her brother's slaying.
"What kind of person could do that?" Haymer said. "That is the most horrible thing I could ever imagine happening. How do you get closure?"
Keenan, who went by the nickname “Smooth,” leaves behind two children, ages 1 year and 4 months. Haymer described him as an easygoing man who attended culinary school and hoped to someday open a restaurant.
Haymer told WOOD TV 8 in Grand Rapids that her family learned Monday that the body found in the forest was that of her brother.
"He just didn't deserve that, you know?" Haymer told the news station. "You really never know how bad it is out here until it comes down your street, until it's your family, until they're coming to talk to you."
WOOD TV 8 also talked to Blamer's family, who expressed shock at the allegations against him. A brother-in-law said they believe that Blamer, who they say helped Keenan install a new stereo system in his SUV, shot Keenan either accidentally or in self-defense.
"This is just a hard thing to believe, because I know he's not like that," the brother-in-law, Mike Clark, told the news station. "This is a first time thing that has happened with him. I know it was a self-defense thing.
“He just don’t like hurting people. I would trust him with my own life.”
Blamer was on probation for failure to pay child support at the time of his arrest, according to the Michigan Department of Corrections. His Facebook page indicates that, like Keenan, he has two young children.
He also has past convictions for malicious destruction of property and driving without a license, WOOD TV 8 reported.
He had not been charged with killing Keenan as of Tuesday. The killing took place in Muskegon County, but the only charges filed so far had been filed by officials in Newaygo County.
About the Author
