Roommates' Testimony Sends Case Against Accused Killer to Grand Jury: Reports

“What would you do if Grace wasn’t here anymore?”

Those are the words that the roommates of slain McLean resident Grace Rebecca Mann said they heard from her accused killer Steven V. Briel, according to a report by The Washington Post. The two female roommates said he uttered the words after he exited a room where they found Mann dying, the newspaper reported. The roommates said Briel, 30, was drenched in sweat.

Mann, 20, later died that day at a nearby hospital in Fredericksburg, where she was a student at Mary Washington University. Briel shared the off-campus house with the three women in Fredericksburg.

Fredericksburg Police have said that Mann’s death April 17 was caused by “asphyxia due to strangulation” per the state medical examiner’s office. Grace was the daughter of Thomas P. Mann, a Fairfax County juvenile and domestic relations judge and Melissa Mann.

The testimony Tuesday by the two female roommates Tuesday was enough for a Fredericksburg judge to send the case to a grand jury.

Briel is charged with first degree murder.

Fredericksburg.com has reported that Briel lived in the Seattle area in September and had worked as a freelance social media manager. Police said Briel is originally from New Jersey, the news site reported.

More than 1,000 mourners gathered April 21 in Falls Church to say goodbye to Mann.

PHOTO of Grace Mann from Patch archive