MANASSAS, Va. — Richard D. Sword appeared in the Manassas Courthouse yet again in the ongoing saga of the Sword trial. Richard Sword and his brother Gerry were arrested on murder charges in late 2012 for the death of 44-year-old Anthony Bailey of Manassas.
In February, the charge was reduced to tampering, transporting, secreting, concealing or altering a dead body after the medical examiner’s report showed that Bailey died from a mixture of ethanol, Paroxetine (an anti-depressant), and Benedryl.
Sword appeared in front of Judge Richard Kendrick and he plead guilty to the tampering charge. The judge then asked both the prosecutor to describe the events of the crime. And both the defense attorney and the prosecuting attorney agreed on a timeline for Bailey’s last few hours alive.
Judge Kendrick heard Sword’s guilty plea and added a pre-sentencing hearing to the court docket for August 15.
Gerry Sword’s trial is scheduled to begin July 27.
Police charged the Sword brothers after Bailey’s body was found burned outside a bank in Old Town Manassas about 7:30 a.m. Oct. 30, 2012.
