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Woodbridge resident Brian George Sayrs, Jr., 28, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for the murder of 72-year-old Emily Lu in 2021.
According to officials, Sayrs' total sentence is 40 years, with 17 years suspended, for murder, and two years for concealing a dead body.
Prosecutors say that on June 4, 2021, Lu's manager alerted the Fairfax County Police Department when she failed to report for work, "which was unusual."
Her car was found that day parked in her driveway in Lorton after she was last seen shopping the day before at Aldi on Godron Plaza in Woodbridge.
For the next seven weeks, police searched for Lu, though they were unable to locate her.
Sayrs, who rented a room in Lu's Lorton home, initially spoke with investigators days after her disappearance, and it was later determined that he lied to detectives about her whereabouts and he became the lead suspect in the case.
Nearly two months later, on July 23, 2021, Sayrs confessed to investigators, copping to the crime.
He then led them to a wooded area miles away from Lu's home, where they found her decomposed body in the area of Dudley Drive and Laurel Crest Drive in Lorton.
Sayrs pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and concealing a body on Aug. 21, 2023, but has refused to provide an explanation about the circumstances surrounding her murder.
"While we may never know the details of this tragic incident, we do know that today, the person responsible for Lu's murder will finally be held accountable for his actions," Descano said.
"My heart breaks for Ms. Lu's family, and for the members of our community who tirelessly searched for (her) for nearly two months."
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