Guilty Plea for Dead Body Burned in Manassas

A local man recently pleaded guilty to concealment of a dead body after burning the body of a local man in a Manassas parking lot last fall.

Richard Dale Sword, 50, entered his plea in Prince William Circuit Court June 13. He will be sentenced August 15. His brother, Gerry Sword, is scheduled for trial later this month. 

Surveillance footage showed Richard and Gerry Sword putting the body of Antonio Bailey, 44, into a van last October. Richard Sword was also seen on video footage driving the van to a parking lot, removing Bailey from the vehicle, and setting him on fire. 

Both brothers were initially charged with murder, but the charges were reduced to concealment of a dead body. The medical examiner ruled that the manner of Bailey's death was undetermined, but caused by a mixture of ethanol, fluoxetine and diphenhydramine.