UPDATE: Warner Robins man sentenced to life for murdering wife

57-year-old Brian McManus was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

UPDATE: (7/17) – Houston County District Attorney says 57-year-old Brian McManus was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Wednesday.

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HOUSTON COUNTY, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – A man convicted of killing his wife in Warner Robins in 2023 is scheduled to be sentenced July 16, according to the Houston County District Attorney.

57-year-old Brian McManus was found guilty by a Houston County jury on July 12 of murdering his wife, 63-year-old Lucille Ann McManus. The trial began July 7. Jurors deliberated the evening of July 11 and the morning of July 12 before delivering the verdict. Sentencing is set for 4 p.m. Tuesday.

The investigation began on November 24, 2023 — the day after Thanksgiving — when McManus called 911 to report that he had found his wife dead in an apparent suicide. Responding officers said McManus appeared calm and emotionless when they arrived. He told deputies he had returned from a walk to discover her body.

Inside the couple’s Wake Forest Drive home, officers found Lucille McManus lying naked across a bed with a severe head injury. No gun or shell casings were located at the scene.

According to investigators, McManus gave several statements to police, showing no concern for his wife and only expressing emotion when discussing his status as a suspect.

Originally from England, McManus served 17 years as a police officer in London before being dismissed after multiple women accused him of making them feel sexually threatened. He later moved to the U.S. on a visa and married a woman in the western United States. After a domestic violence arrest involving that spouse, the couple divorced.

McManus later met Lucille McManus on Tinder. They married in 2022 after just three months of dating. Prosecutors said the marriage was motivated by McManus’ attempt to obtain a green card and remain in the country. The couple lived with Lucille’s granddaughter and two great-grandchildren.

During the marriage, McManus took what he claimed were business trips to Florida to meet with a mistress. The affair was discovered when McManus accidentally sent a text intended for the mistress to his wife. Lucille reportedly told him she planned to report their marriage as a sham.

Facing possible deportation, McManus devised a plan to kill her, authorities said. On the morning after Thanksgiving, he waited for his wife to exit the shower, then struck her in the head with an unknown object and manually strangled her. He later washed himself and cleaned the weapon.

After the killing, McManus walked his dog and attempted to dispose of his phone and the suspected murder weapon in a nearby ditch. He then returned home, placed his clothing in the washing machine, and called 911.

Detective Karmen Thompson of the Warner Robins Police Department led the investigation. Surveillance footage from the neighborhood showed McManus walking to a drainage ditch after the killing. Officers later recovered a rubber mallet and cell phone in the ditch.

An autopsy by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation confirmed Lucille McManus died from blunt force trauma and manual strangulation. Her injuries included skull fractures, internal bleeding, and spinal damage. Blood found under her fingernails matched McManus’ DNA, and officers observed fresh scratch marks on his arm.

Throughout the investigation, McManus attempted to shift blame onto others, including the victim’s granddaughter and her boyfriend, and suggested a possible break-in. However, security video and phone location data provided by the FBI showed that only the victim and McManus were at the home at the time of the killing.

There were no signs of forced entry, and valuable items inside the home were untouched.

McManus remains in custody ahead of his sentencing.

Assistant District Attorney Duane released the following statement:

“Miss Ann was a lonely woman, and the defendant used that to his advantage. He used her to abuse our immigration system and then, when he got caught, brutally killed her. No one deserves to die like that. McManus is a serial liar and con man who attempted to hide the fact that he murdered his wife by tampering with evidence and blaming others. He is a textbook narcissist who thinks he is the smartest man in the room. I am glad that the jury saw him for what he was – a monster – and grateful that the victim’s family finally has some answers.”

District Attorney Eric Edwards released the following statement:

“This was a brutal and calculated murder carried out by an evil sociopath who views the women in his life as disposable. Brian McManus was not only willing to exploit our immigration system and manipulate a vulnerable woman into a sham marriage—he was willing to kill her when she became inconvenient. And then he tried to cover it up, pin it on her family, and walk away without consequence. He failed. Because of the work of the Warner Robins Police Department, forensic experts, and ADAs Justin Duane and Lauren Fletcher, the truth won out. Miss Ann’s voice was stolen, but her story was told—and her killer will never have the opportunity to silence anyone again. As our community launches a renewed initiative to prevent domestic violence homicides, this case serves as a gut-wrenching reminder of what’s at stake. This office will never hesitate to bring the full weight of the law down on abusers who mistake silence for weakness.”