Man who burned someone alive at Olympia homeless encampment has been sentenced
A Thurston County judge sentenced a man to over 55 years in prison this week for his role in killing a man who was set on fire at an Olympia encampment in 2024.
Christopher Edward Snyder, 32, learned of his sentence during a Thurston County Superior Court hearing Wednesday morning.
The hearing occurred about five weeks after a jury convicted him of first-degree murder and other crimes in connection to the death of Zebediah Starbrow Schoening, a 47-year-old former resident of “The Jungle,” the homeless encampment on Martin Way East in Olympia.
The case ended over a year after Schoening was doused with “homemade napalm” and set on fire by his tent on Oct. 8, 2024, according to court records. Snyder was one of two defendants accused of murdering Schoening.
“What we are looking at here with Mr. Snyder is a violent man who committed the most egregious act of violence that most people could imagine and the court’s primary mind, given the murder conviction here, is to protect the community from Mr. Snyder as long as possible,” Judge Christopher Lanese said.
Schoening suffered severe burns across his body and face, but he was alive when officers arrived on scene.
First responders initially transported him to Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia. However, he was later transferred to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, which treats critical trauma cases.
Schoening died from his injuries on Oct. 25, 2024.
“I think that most people, if they were asked, ‘What’s the worst way to go?’ it’s probably being burned alive for a lot of people,” Lanese said on Wednesday. “It’s at least on the very short list. No one deserves to have that happen to them ever.”
Robin Schoening, the ex-wife of Zebediah Schoening, addressed the court before Lanese delivered the sentence. She lamented that her daughter had to see her father in critical condition and that he no longer has the chance to reconnect with his family.
“This was no accident,” Robin Schoening said. “They set out to torture and kill him. They made plans to set him on fire. They set out to find him in The Jungle. As sad as it is, it was Zeb’s home. They invaded his home and set him on fire. No human or even animal deserves that pain and torture.”
She said Snyder has never taken responsibility for his actions and that she wanted the court to ensure he is never able to be in public again.
“He is unstable and cannot be trusted to value anyone’s life or follow laws as he is not so ‘hella smart’ as he claimed to be,” Robin Schoening said. “Please consider all of Zeb’s children and public safety as you make your decisions.”
Mariah Schoening, the 23-year-old daughter of Zebediah Schoening, remembered her father as an artist who taught her to “love life.” She said she learned to read and write from him and is now pursuing a degree to become a teacher.
“Snyder has refused any responsibility for my father’s death,” Mariah Schoening said. “My mother and I have sat in court every day. Our lives didn’t stop with the trial. I continued my education even while sitting in this trial, and my mother continued to work.”
Though she had a complicated relationship with her father, she said she always loved him, and that she and her two infant sisters did not deserve to lose their father.
“My father is gone and nothing will change that,” Mariah Schoening said. “All we can do now is look forward and consider how we can keep others safe from this man’s actions so this will never happen again, so that no one else’s daughter has to carry their father’s ashes, as I have for the past year. This is not how anyone should reunite with their parent, and this never should have happened.”
Lanese sentenced Snyder to 55 years and two months in prison.
That includes 47 years and 8 months for the first-degree murder conviction and 90 months each for two counts of intimidating a witness. The latter two counts will be served concurrently, Lanese said.
Prosecutors alleged Snyder sought out and threatened witnesses to prevent them from speaking truthfully to police.
The sentence for the murder conviction fell at the high end of the standard range for Snyder and aligned with a recommendation from prosecutors. The sentence Lanese ordered for the two counts of intimidating a witness fell in the middle of the standard range.
A jury found Snyder guilty on Oct. 20.
Snyder briefly addressed the court at sentencing Wednesday. He continued to maintain his innocence.
“I know what it’s like to lose a loved one to violence,” Snyder said. “You guys got my sympathies and condolences and stuff, but … I ain’t do it. There’s nothing I could have done to stop it. I wasn’t around … .”
His co-defendant, 32-year-old Kevin Hinzpeter, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on Sept. 16 and avoided a jury trial.
On Nov. 17, Judge Christopher Lanese sentenced Hinzpeter to 14 years, three and half months in prison as well as three years of community custody.
Court records indicate Schoening identified Hinzpeter as his assailant. In the course of the investigation, police determined that Snyder also took part in the attack and alleged that he attempted to cover it up.
Prosecutors alleged in court records that Hinzpeter and Snyder believed Schoening killed the brother of Hinzpeter’s ex-girlfriend.
When reached for comment, Prosecuting Attorney’s Office spokesperson Tara Tshelana said the investigative materials provided by law enforcement did not link Schoening to the death of another person. Furthermore, Washington state court records show Schoening was never prosecuted for the death of another person.
Tshelana said prosecutors did not focus on a motive at trial because they were not required to prove a motive.
Defense attorney Albert Didcock asked the court to give Snyder the mandatory minimum sentence of 27 years, which would have been below the standard range.
He argued Snyder ought to receive a lower sentence because Hinzpeter got a significantly lower sentence. He said Hinzpeter was the principal perpetrator of the crime.
“The fact is that Mr. Snyder’s position remains that he was not an accomplice in this,” Didcock said. “I have prepared a notice of appeal for him and Mr. Snyder will look to litigate this issue in another court. But understanding that Mr. Snyder sees himself as not involved here, the evidence at most showed that Mr. Snyder was an accomplice.”
Lanese rejected Didcock’s argument and noted that Hinzpeter pleaded guilty while Snyder did not.
After delivering the sentence, Lanese stressed that he only compared the two cases to respond to Didcock’s argument, and said he did not consider Hinzpeter’s case when sentencing Snyder.
This story was originally published November 26, 2025 at 2:41 PM.
