HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Dylan Williams, the teenager who pleaded guilty to shooting and killing 13-year-old Lucia Bremer in 2021, has been sentenced to 60 years behind bars.
The sentence was handed down in Henrico Circuit Court on the afternoon of Friday, April 14.
Williams, who is now 16 years old, will serve the first four and a half years of his sentence in the custody of the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice until he turns 21. Williams will then serve the rest of his sentence in the custody of the Virginia Department of Corrections.
Durning the days deliberations, the court heard testimony from the family and friends of Bremer, including the friend who was forced to witness her death. The judge also acknowledged 75 victim impact statements that were submitted ahead of the sentencing.
“Losing your best friend is the worst thing that could happen to you,” said Bremer’s friend, who was 11 at the time of the shooting, on the stand.
Bremer’s father, Jonathan Bremer, said he was grateful to the neighbors who risked their lives to to help Lucia and spotted Dylan Williams as he fled the scene.
“She could not run faster than his bullets,” he said.
Meredith Bremer, Lucia’s mother, also took the stand, placing a photo of Lucia on the stand as she told the court how the two formed a “girlfriends club” as the two women in the house.
She also recalled running into the garage of the neighbor’s house where Lucia had been shot and holding her daughter after she was shot.
A neurophyschologist also testified about his assessment of Dylan Williams, performed last year before he entered a guilty plea in January 2023.
Dr. Salmaan Khawaja testified that he spent 8 hours with Williams, that both of Williams parents died — his father in a stabbing and his mother of an asthma attack — and that Williams had had “homicidal ideations” for years, doing significant research before Bremer’s murder.
Williams apologized to Bremer’s family, saying “What I did was wrong. I would take my own life to bring her back.”
Williams pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, second-degree murder, and possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Williams, who was 14 when the shooting took place, was tried as an adult.
