MUSKEGON, Mich. — A Fremont man who thought his sentence for a 2017 murder and dismemberment was too harsh has lost an appeal to have his prison term shortened.
A judge described Anthony Shawn Blamer’s crime as “diabolical.’’ He sentenced Blamer to 40-60 years for second-degree murder.
Blamer fatally shot D‘Anthony Keenan in a Muskegon area carwash and then used a chainsaw to cut off the victim’s head and hands. The body and dismembered parts were dumped in the Manistee National Forest.
Following a bench trial, Blamer was found guilty of second-degree murder and two weapons offenses. Blamer said his sentence for second-degree murder was “unreasonable and disproportionate.’’
In a recent decision, the court of appeals disagreed.
“Indeed, given the gruesome dismemberment of the victim’s body, the minimum sentence was entirely proportionate and reasonable,’’ the appeals court ruled.
The killing occurred when the two met in a carwash bay to discuss Blamer’s faulty installation of a car audio system for Keenan, court records show. While at the carwash, Blamer shot and killed Keenan.
He later dismembered the body, removing Keenan’s head and hands and dumping the body parts in a national forest area. When Blamer was arrested, “he provided numerous, ever-evolving and wildly inconsistent accounts’’ about Keenan’s death and dismemberment, court records show.
In his appeal, Blamer said sentencing guidelines were incorrectly scored to his disadvantage. He said inconsistent statements he gave to police did not interfere with the administration of justice and should not have counted against him.
Blamer told investigators Keenan was the one who initially had the gun. He said the shooting was accidental. Blamer also told police that two unknown masked individuals were involved in the crime and forced him to buy several items, including a chainsaw.
They directed Blamer to drive to the national forest, where the masked individuals dismembered Keenan’s body.
Justices said the conflicting stories were “egregious and misleading.’’
Blamer eventually admitted to removing Keenan’s head and hands and burning up a great deal of blood-covered evidence.
Keenan’s body was found in August of 2017 in the Manistee National Forest. Blamer later led police to the head and hands at a different location in the national forest.
Blamer said he acted in self-defense.
Blamer, 32, is at a state prison in Manistee; he will not be eligible for release until December of 2059.
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