A former cop from London, England, was found guilty last week of murdering his American wife in Georgia, with prosecutors claiming he “bludgeoned” her to death with a rubber mallet and then staged it to appear as a suicide in order to “walk away without consequence” — and a green card.
Brian McManus, 57, was convicted on Saturday of killing his wife, Lucille McManus, in November 2023 in Warner Robins, about 100 miles south of Atlanta. Court documents show that McManus attempted to cover up the slaying by claiming Lucille McManus shot herself, despite the fact that “no gun or shell casings were found at the scene,” according to the Houston County District Attorney’s Office, which announced McManus’ conviction on Facebook Wednesday.
“McManus attempted to cover up the murder, blame it on the victim’s family, and walk away with no consequences,” the DA’s office wrote in a post. “He failed. The truth came to light thanks to the efforts of the Warner Robins Police Department, forensic experts, and Houston County Assistant District Attorneys Justin Duane and Lauren Fletcher.
McManus was found guilty by a Houston County jury after a six-day trial, according to court documents. He faced a slew of evidence presented by prosecutors in various filings over the last year and a half, including security footage showing McManus walking his dog on the day he claimed to find his wife dead while carrying a bag containing what police believed to be the rubber mallet used to bludgeon Lucille McManus to death. The footage showed him walking along a path where the mallet was found before returning home without the bag.
“Further, the defendant had multiple conversations with law enforcement, where the defendant repeatedly bragged about his time as a police officer in London,” prosecutors claimed in a March 17 response to a motion for bond reconsideration.
“Specifically, the defendant bragged about his training and knowledge of impact weapons including how to use them properly because police in London carry impact weapons and not guns,” the attorney’s reply stated.
Prosecutors accused McManus of killing his wife for a variety of reasons, including preventing her from informing the government that their marriage was arranged to get him a Green Card, which would have resulted in his deportation. Multiple witnesses confirmed this during the trial, testifying that the couple married just months after meeting on Tinder, according to local Fox affiliate WAGA.
According to WMAZ, McManus also had a secret girlfriend in Florida who he intended to flee with following the murder.
Officers from the Warner Robins Police Department were dispatched to 202 Wake Forest Dr. around 9 a.m. that morning, after McManus called 911 and claimed to have found his wife. Police later determined that the couple was alone at the home.
“Mr. McManus reported that he found the victim deceased by what he advised was an obvious self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head,” prosecutors said in a warrant application filed in November 2023.
“There was not a firearm located in proximity to the body to suggest a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” according to the paperwork. Mrs. McManus was found to have been struck multiple times in the head, not shot. Mr. McManus provided officers with inconsistent time frames for events and statements. Mr. McManus had fresh scratches on his right arm that he was unaware of until officers pointed them out.
McManus was not only unable to explain where or when the scratches occurred, but he also “further admitted to changing his clothes prior to officers arrival and washing the clothing he previously had on,” according to the warrant application.
“As part of law enforcement’s investigation, law enforcement learned that the defendant stashed a large sum of money in his vehicle either before or immediately after the murder,” according to prosecutors in the filing from March 17. “During the investigation and before the defendant was arrested, he attempted to retrieve his vehicle from the scene of the incident. Fortunately, law enforcement seized the vehicle and prevented him from driving away in it. The State believes that if the defendant had been able to recover his vehicle that day, he would have fled with the money.
This wasn’t the British killer’s first failed American marriage. Before moving to Warner Robins, McManus was married to an Idaho woman who divorced him after an alleged domestic violence incident, WMAZ reported.
McManus was scheduled to be sentenced on Wednesday afternoon.
