FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. — A Woodbridge man will spend 25 years behind bars for killing his 72-year-old landlady back in 2021. A judge sentenced Brian Sayrs Jr. in a Fairfax County courtroom Friday. Prosecutors had asked for Sayrs to serve 32 years for the murder.
Sayrs killed 72-year-old Emily Lu nearly three years ago at her home on Davis Drive before dumping her body in the woods near the traffic circle at Dudley Drive and Laurel Crest Drive, less than two miles away from her home.
Throughout the case, the prosecutors noted the particularly violent nature of Lu's murder. Before her body was found, Lu was last seen checking out groceries at the Aldi in Woodbridge the night of June 3, 2021 Her employer, Home Instead in Annandale, alerted police when she did not show up to work.
During sentencing, prosecutors said Lu's body was out in the woods in the summer heat for 49 days before she was found. Sayrs fled to Texas immediately following the murder, before texting police that he felt remorse. Prosecutors claimed Lu's body was out in the elements for so long that a cause of death could not be determined, but they believe it was a stabbing or beating of some sort.
Sayrs pleaded guilty to second-degree murder last year, but refused to provide an explanation of the circumstances surrounding Lu's murder.
Lu's daughter, Jenny Ball, was present at the sentencing and talked about the impact her mother's death had on her mental health, and how her mother had plans to retire to Taiwan.
“While we may never know all the details of this tragic incident, we do know that today, the person responsible for Ms. Lu’s murder will finally be held accountable for his actions,” Commonwealth's Attorney Steve Descano said. “My heart breaks for Ms. Lu’s family, and for the members of our community who tirelessly searched for Ms. Lu for nearly two months.”
A friend of Lu's told WUSA9 that he felt uneasy around Sayrs when they met.
Joseph Hoffman called Lu his closest friend for 13 years after he rented a room at her house for only three months. They maintained a strong relationship throughout the years, so much so that he would help check up on her tenants, he said. Hoffman said he has been in communication with police but chose not to elaborate on the possible motive.
"The last thing I want is for him to be set free," Hoffman said.
Hoffman said he met Sayrs when he first moved in in early May, when Lu held a welcome dinner. Sayrs was the only tenant at the time of her disappearance, he added.
"He was unsteady and very fidgety," Hoffman said. "He didn't eat hardly any food which is very strange and didn't say much of anything but he was always uppity, wants to go, wants to go, wants to go, so, I was uneasy with him."
Sayrs' lawyers said his living situation was toxic, and said he has been on medication for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder while he's been in prison.
In a prepared statement, he told the court, "I'm a changed man."
RELATED: 'I was uneasy with him' | Emily Lu's friend describes meeting tenant accused of killing her
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