Woodland Man Convicted Of First-Degree Murder Of Massage Employee
WOODLAND (CBS13) - Rohail Sarwar, 28, was convicted today of the first-degree murder of Cottonwood Massage employee Junying Lu on August 21, 2018, announced District Attorney Jeff Reisig.
READ: Suspect Arrested In Woodland Massage Parlor Murder
According to evidence presented during the trial, Sarwar had received a massage at Cottonwood Massage in late July or early August of last year. Following the massage, Sarwar attacked the masseuse and demanded sex. The two struggled until the convicted left on foot. The assault had gone unreported at first due to the masseuse thinking she would not be believed.
On August 21, 2018, evidence showed that Sarwar called his mistress, wanting to meet for sex. When she said she was unable to meet, Sarwar walked to Cottonwood Plaza, where the massage parlor is located, entered a liquor store and purchased a knife. After monitoring the front door of Cottonwood Massage for several minutes, Sarwar entered and requested a massage from Lu, who was the only employee inside at the time.
Sarwar then stabbed Lu fourteen times, four of which were fatal.
READ: Man Accused Of Killing Woodland Massage Business Employee Has Court Hearing Monday
Evidence collected consisted of a video of Sarwar purchasing the murder weapon, video of Sarwar walking down Cottonwood Street with bloody hands, the victim's blood found on the convicted's clothes, and his fingerprints found in the victim's blood.
Sarwar was also convicted of sexual assault of another victim, which occurred about a month before the murder. He is scheduled for a September 12 sentencing hearing and faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.
