Tenant Accused Of Killing Asian Landlady, 72, After Corpse Found In Virginia Woods

A tenant has been accused of brutally killing his 72-year-old Asian-American landlady after her body was found in a remote Virginia woods some 50 days after she was reported missing, local authorities announced Saturday, July 24.

Brian George Sayrs Jr., 25, of Woodbridge, has been charged with second-degree murder and felony concealment of a body after the remains of Emily Lu, 72, who had been missing for two months, was found at a wooded area near Dudley Drive and Laurel Crest Drive, NBC News reported.

Lu, a longtime resident of Fairfax County, had been reported missing since June 3, 2021. She was last seen on June 3 on a CCTV surveillance video at an Aldi grocery store in 1329 Gordon Plaza, Woodbridge, Virginia.

The police started investigating Lu's disappearance after she failed to show up for work on June 4. When police officers checked on her home, they found her car in the driveway with groceries still inside.

On Friday, July 23, Sayrs reportedly turned himself in and accompanied officers towards the woods near a traffic circle at Dudley and Laurel Crest drives in Lorton to direct them towards Lu's remains, according to WTVR-TV.

Lu's body was found at a location less than two miles away from her home. Investigators believe the murder took place at the Lorton home where Sayrs and Lu lived at the time of her disappearance, Fox News reported.

“This murder is tragic. This murder is heartbreaking,” Major Ed O’Carroll, Commander of the Major Crimes and Cyber and Forensics Bureaus, said at a press conference. “Emily didn’t deserve what had happened to her. She did nothing wrong. This is not the outcome we desired or hoped for, and I am personally saddened and heartbroken about the closure that has come to this case.”

Sayrs is currently being held at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center without bond. Sayrs was reportedly one of the dozens of people that the detectives interviewed after Lu's disappearance, Major O’Carroll said. Officials did not reveal Sayrs' motive behind the murder and declined to comment on how Lu was killed.

“Emily was caring. Emily was loving. Emily was amazing,” Major O’Carroll said. He also added that she dedicated her life to taking care of others in the community.