{"id":1021,"date":"2026-05-28T05:02:53","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T05:02:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=1021"},"modified":"2026-05-28T05:02:53","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T05:02:53","slug":"friend-of-phoenix-morgue-break-in-suspect-this-couldve-been-prevented","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=1021","title":{"rendered":"Friend of Phoenix morgue break-in suspect: \u2018This could\u2019ve been prevented\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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PHOENIX (AZFamily)<\/b> \u2014 A longtime friend of a man accused of breaking into the Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner and sexually violating bodies said he had concerns about the suspect\u2019s mental state before the arrest.<\/p>\n

Read more Sticky TikTok trend leaves Phoenix landmark covered in gum<\/a><\/p>\n

Fenris Lu, 31, is facing felony charges after police say he broke into the medical examiner\u2019s office and unzipped 11 body bags, abusing four of the bodies. Phoenix police reported the crime last week.<\/p>\n

The friend, who asked not to be identified, said he has known Lu for a long time and drove to Phoenix from Washington state last week to check on him. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s weird for a person just disappear. Mutual friends told me to check the news. At first, I took a pause,\u201d this friend said.<\/p>\n

He learned about the allegations when he could not get in touch with Lu.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t believe his motives were just to like go, satisfy himself sexually and get away with it. I strongly believe that he was in some kind of psychosis or mental illness state,\u201d the friend said.<\/p>\n

Background on the suspect<\/h2>\n

The friend said Lu is originally from China, where his parents live, and was previously enrolled in a Ph.D. program at the University of Washington, where he taught other students at one point.<\/p>\n

Lu moved to Phoenix for a relationship and took classes at Arizona State University, according to the friend.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a toxic relationship and he had a hard time getting over that breakup,\u201d the friend said.<\/p>\n

The friend said Lu\u2019s addiction to methamphetamine started in Seattle and followed him to Phoenix. He said the Lu he knows is not a criminal and that drugs motivated the behavior.<\/p>\n

Read more Woman accused in Phoenix-area bank robberies in 2024 now federally charged<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI feel really sorry for all the families that have their loved ones in that facility, and they\u2019ve been assaulted like this but it also this could\u2019ve been prevented if he had better help for people who struggle with addiction and illness,\u201d the friend said.<\/p>\n

The friend said he tried to help as Lu\u2019s mental state declined, including hiking. Over time, Lu became someone the friend did not recognize.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis intellect was really beautiful. You could talk to him about signs theories, and it was fun and we talked about life and anything and as much of a genius he is he\u2019s also not right in the head for what happened to him I\u2019m really sorry that this happened to him,\u201d the friend said.<\/p>\n

The friend said he knew Lu well and that this type of behavior was not something Lu ever showed interest in.<\/p>\n

Lu is due back in court this week. Police have not said whether all of the victims\u2019 families were contacted.<\/p>\n

See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? <\/i>Please click here to report it<\/i>.<\/i><\/p>\n

Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send <\/i>it to us here<\/i> with a brief description.<\/i><\/p>\n

Read more Victim identified in Tucson shooting near Pima, Columbus<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A longtime friend of a man accused of a shocking Phoenix morgue break-in said he was battling addiction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1020,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1021","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nFriend of Phoenix morgue break-in suspect: \u2018This could\u2019ve been prevented\u2019 - Tucson Moving Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=1021\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Friend of Phoenix morgue break-in suspect: \u2018This could\u2019ve been prevented\u2019 - 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