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A suburban Atlanta police officer has been charged in the kidnapping and murder of a girl who disappeared last July after her naked body was found stashed in a forest.
Miles Bryant, a 22-year-old ex-cop with the Doraville Police Department, is now being held without bond for the 16-year-old girl’s death – and is facing additional charges of conspiring to conceal his alleged crimes after the fact.
The charges center around the disappearance of 16-year-old Susanna Morales, who cops said had no relationship to Bryant, but lived just a few miles away from the disgraced officer.
Her skeletal remains were discovered and identified by cops last month, in woods near Dacula, an exurb of Atlanta less than 20 miles from her last known location. Detectives have not revealed a motive – but have said the accused ‘is known or suspected of’ rape, murder, and other felonies.
Over the weekend, Bryant was hit with another unrelated charge of burglary, after a former classmate of his accused him of stalking her and breaking into her home in a recorded encounter in 2019.
Miles Bryant, a 22-year-old ex-cop with the Doraville Police Department, is now being held without bond for the 16-year-old girl’s death
Police are now investigating Bryant’s alleged history of stalking women
The charges center around the disappearance of 16-year-old Susanna Morales (pictured) who cops said had no relationship to Bryant, but lived just a few miles away from the disgraced officer
Since stripped of his police credentials and put in custody, Bryant is facing charges of concealing the death of another, filing a false report of a crime, murder and kidnapping.
As of Sunday, cops have not filed any charges associated with rape. The concealment charge, meanwhile, is a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
The initial charges against Bryant came less than three weeks ago, after investigators confirmed Morales’ remains were found, naked, in a wooded area along Highway 316.
That discovery was made nearly six months after Morales’ family reported her missing, sparking a search throughout the Atlanta area the bore little – until last month when police provided an update on the investigation.
‘On Monday, Feb 06, 2023, shortly after 6:30 p.m., Gwinnett Police responded to Hwy 316 between Drowning Creek and the Barrow County Line after receiving a call from a passerby stating they saw what they believed to be human remains in the woods,’ cops in in Gwinnett County wrote at the time.
‘Detectives and CSI responded to the scene, and the Gwinnett Medical Examiners’ office took possession of the remains,’ the department – set just a few miles from Doraville – added, remarking that the force was ‘investigating the manner and cause of death of Morales,’ who was identified from her dental records.
Over the weekend, Bryant was hit with another unrelated charge of burglary, after a former classmate of his accused him of stalking her and breaking into her home in a recorded encounter in 2019 (a photo of which can be seen here)
The body was found, police said, after officers received a call from a passerby who said they had spotted what they had believed to be human remains in brush at the side of the highway, which links the Atlanta communities.
Cops added that Morales’ family told the department the when the teen disappeared the night of July 26, her cell phone and video footage showed her walking towards her home, but police have reason to believe she may have gotten into a vehicle.
Bryant, meanwhile, lived in Norcross – ‘in close proximity to [the] victim and dumped her naked body in the woods,’ Gwinnett Detective Angela Carter said upon announcing his arrest as the sole suspect in the case less than two weeks later.
An initial warrant application would see the relatively green Georgia peace officer – a who has work history in the Army National Guard, deputy at the Forsyth County Jail, and various security jobs – charged with one count of concealing the death of another and one count of false report of a crime.
Bryant is being held without bond at the Gwinnett County Adult Detention Center (pictured) on charges of concealing the death of another, filing a false report of a crime, murder and kidnapping
The false report of a crime charge, a misdemeanor, and the concealment charge, cops said, stemmed from Bryant attempting to conceal Morales’ death during a time period between July 26, 2022, at 10:20 pm to 1:40 am on July 27, 2022.
During those hours, detectives alleged, the cop – who may have had a history of stalking women that went unchecked – unlawfully ‘hindering the discovery of whether or not such person was unlawfully killed.’
Police added that Bryant also falsely filed a police report claiming his gun was stolen after his car was broken into. Cops did not elaborate how the charges are connected to the Morales case.
Bryant remained in jail Sunday after a judge denied him bail earlier in the week, with a local judge citing investigators’ belief that the officer – who was fired after he was charged – is a danger to the community.
As cops continue to build a case against Bryant, more of his alleged misdeeds have begun to come to light, as he faces new charges in connection with the alleged stalking and burglary of another woman, Elesha Bates, a former classmate of Bryant who claims the suspect showed up to her home in Snellville unannounced in May 2019 and on several other occasions.
As cops continue to build a case against Bryant faces new charges in connection with the alleged stalking and burglary of another woman, Elesha Bates, who claims the suspect showed up to her home in Snellville unannounced several times in 2019
Bates submitted Ring camera video of the scary encounter to both the Gwinnett County Police Department and the Doraville Police Department in December as evidence, after she told cops that Bryant, who was employed with the Doraville Police officer at the time, was stalking her.
In response to the neighbor’s account, the Doraville Police Department revealedd it conducted an administrative investigation into the incident, but closed Bates’ case because of a ‘lack of leads.’
Doraville Police said they told Bates to report any potential criminal charges to the Gwinnett County Police Department, due to the apartment complex being in their jurisdiction.
That said, late last month, as new information on Bryant’s other cases came to light, an investigation into Bates’ allegations was reopened, the department confirmed Sunday.
Cops said Bryant allegedly tampered with a locked bedroom window during the break-in, which was recorded by a neighbor’s doorbell camera. He is now facing charges of first-degree burglary in addition to the murder, kidnapping, and concealment charges, and remains incarcerated.
Cops said Bryant allegedly tampered with a locked bedroom window during the break-in, which was recorded by a neighbor’s doorbell camera. He is now facing charges of burglary in addition to the murder, kidnapping, and concealment charges, and remains incarcerated
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