Prosecutors in Virginia dropped charges against a man previously accused of the deaths of a mother and her adult son found shot in their home, WTOP reported.
Forensics testing found bullets recovered from the victims' bodies did not match 38-year-old Brian Welsh's gun, so Loudoun County prosecutors said they decided to drop the charges for now and continue the investigation.
Welsh's attorney, Tom Walsh, said detectives are not backing down.
“He is the sole target in their mind," Walsh said. "They have blinders on, and so they’re going to try to get him no matter what.”
About the time charges were being dropped, detectives pulled out warrants and searched Welsh's brother's home, his parents' home and a third home. A search warrant suggest the gun was modified after the homicides.
“My client maintains his innocence," Walsh said. "Said he never did it, that gun was never used, that gun was in his house. And so I pushed from the very beginning: test the bullets.”
Deputies were called to the 25000 block of Tomey Court in Aldie Jan. 31 after one of Mala Manwani's co-workers at CSRA — where she was an accountant — reported that no one had heard from her that week.
When deputies checked her home, they found Mala Manwani, 65, and Rishi Manwani, 32, dead in different parts of the home. Both had been shot more than once.
When Welsh was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in March, investigators said they believed he was involved in drug activity with Rishi Manwani and Mala Manwani was not believed to be an intended target.
The defense doesn't deny the relationship.
“He was using opiates, Rishi was an opiate dealer, and he was friends with Rishi," Walsh said. "Matter of fact, he considered Rishi a very good friend.”
