Police: Brothers Charged, Murdered Man Was Set on Fire

The two men accused of the murder of a Manassas man allegedly set him on fire after they dumped his body in a parking lot, Manassas City Police said Wednesday. 

Richard Dale Sword, 50, of the 6200 block of Pioneer Drive in Springfield, and Gerry Lee Sword, 49, of no fixed address in Springfield, were arrested Tuesday evening and subsequently charged with first-degree murder.

They are accused of murdering Antonio Ricardo Bailey, 44, of Smithfield Road in the Manassas area. Bailey's body was found early Tuesday morning in a vacant parking lot on Church Street in Manassas.  

"The accused men were identified through investigation and later observed on security video putting Mr. Bailey into a van owned by Richard Sword. Richard Sword was then seen on the video driving the van to the parking lot (where Mr. Bailey’s body was later found), removing Mr. Bailey, and setting him on fire," Sgt. Lowell Nevill, a spokesman for the Manassas City Police Department, said in a press release.

There is no indication that the crime was racial motivated, Nevill said. Investigators were concerned that it was a hate crime, but found nothing to indicate that, he said.

Nevill said the suspects were acquainted with the victim, but the nature of their relationship is still under investigation. The motive is unclear.

Evidence does indicate the crime did happen where the body was found. Nevill said there is nothing to suggest the victim was moved.

The definitive cause of Bailey's death remains under investigation by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. 

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Editor's Note: The above information was provided by the Manassas City Police Department. Where arrests or charges are mentioned in the article it does not indicate a conviction.