Background: Pigeon Hill Road in Jackson Township, Pa. (Google Maps). Inset (left): Zachary Neiman (Northern York County Regional Police Department). Inset (right): Michael Byers (Feiser Funeral Home).
A Pennsylvania landlord who told his neighbors that he beat up his tenant, who later died from his injuries, has been sentenced for murder.
Zachary Neiman, 37, pleaded no contest to third-degree murder in connection with the 2023 death of 42-year-old Michael Byers. Neiman, who was Byers' landlord, was sentenced on Oct. 27 to 8 to 16 years in prison. A charge of involuntary manslaughter was dropped as part of his plea deal.
Before his death, Byers lived in a detached apartment on Neiman's property as a tenant. On the night of April 29, 2023, the two men were hanging out and drinking at a firepit on Neiman's property. According to Northern York County Regional Police, neighbors heard the two men having a verbal altercation. Shortly after that, the neighbors spoke with Neiman, who told them, according to court documents obtained by local ABC affiliate WHTM, "I just beat the s— out of Mike."
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Neighbors told police that after that conversation with Neiman, they heard him continue to assault Byers. They told police that this took place at around 10 p.m.
Early the next morning, Neiman called 911 after discovering Byers dead outside his home, wearing just a pair of shorts and "covered in mud." According to court documents, first responders arrived to find Neiman performing chest compressions on Byers, who was already cold to the touch. Neiman told police that he could not remember what happened the previous night because of how much he drank.
Neiman also told police that he went to bed at 11:30 p.m.
An autopsy performed on Byers listed his cause of death as blunt-force injuries complicated by ethanol intoxication.
Neiman was charged in November 2023 with third-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter.
