Cops: Teen arrested in years-old killing of peer

A 19-year-old man was arrested Friday in the murder of a 16-year-old whose skeletal remains were found in March 2020 in a Centereach house's backyard, according to the Suffolk County Police Department.
The man, John Mann Jr., of Centereach, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Henry Hernandez of Riverhead, the department said Friday in a news release.

The police press office declined to elaborate on the case, such as disclosing what evidence connects Mann to the alleged crime, and his relationship if any to Hernandez. How Hernandez was killed wasn't disclosed.

Mann’s address, according to the press office, is several houses down from where the remains were found.

Mann is to be arraigned Monday in Riverhead, the release said. There had been a warrant for his arrest, the press office said Friday evening. He was being held until arraignment at the Yaphank jail.

A man who answered at a phone number listed for Mann's house said, "No comment."

The remains were found in the backyard of a home on Jay Road and reported to police through 911 on March 15, 2020.
The victim — described as being 5-foot-3 to 5-foot-5 inches tall, wearing size 4 ½ men’s sneakers — is believed to have been “a victim of violence,” the department said Jan. 13, 2021, in a news release. He had not yet been identified at that time.
"He is believed to have been dead for approximately one year prior to finding the body," that release said.

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.