A Loudoun County judge sentenced Brian Kuang-Ming Welsh to spend the rest of his life in prison for the 2018 murders of Mala Manwani, 65, and her 32-year-old son Rishi in their Aldie, Virginia, home.
Circuit Court Judge James Fisher went along with a jury’s recommendation on Monday and sentenced 41-year-old Welsh to the maximum — life in prison for each murder, to be served concurrently, plus three years in prison for each felony use of a firearm.
On Jan. 29, 2018, Welsh shot each of the Manwanis several times inside their home on Tomey Court in Aldie. Their bodies were discovered two days later.
A jury convicted Welsh in February of this year. Prosecutors said during the trial that Welsh killed the two in an effort to steal $3,000 from Rishi Manwani, who had been dealing drugs from the home he shared with his mother.
Before he was sentenced, Welsh stood, maintained his innocence and told the judge he intended to appeal.
Defense attorney Tom Walsh told WTOP the appeal will be based on jurors not being allowed to hear ballistics testimony that would show the bullets recovered from victims’ bodies didn’t match his client’s gun.
Earlier, Loudoun County prosecutors had to drop murder charges against Welsh, but eventually indicted him.
In trial, prosecutors said Welsh, who was deeply in debt, saw Rishi Manwani with money in his hand, and shot and killed him. When Mala Manwani responded to the noise, Welsh shot her, according to prosecutors.
