Miles Bryant murder trial: Jury to deliberate in case of 16-year-old Susana Morales
GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. - Jury deliberations are set to get underway in the Miles Bryant murder trial.
Bryant was charged with killing 16-year-old Susana Morales in Gwinnett County.
The former Doraville policeman was working as a courtesy officer at the Gwinnett County apartment complex Susana Morales visited the night she went missing.
PREVIOUS STORY: Miles Bryant trial: Gun found nearby Susana Morales' remains introduced as evidence
He has since been accused of kidnapping and killing the 16-year-old as she walked home from a friend's house in July 2022.
On Tuesday, Bryant told the judge he would not testify on his own behalf. The defense team rested its case without presenting a single witness.
Gwinnett Police Department Homicide Detective Angela Carter returned to the witness stand for a second day of testimony.
Investigators honed in on Bryant as a suspect after his gun was found near Morales' skeletal remains and his cell phone pinged in the area where she was discovered.
Much of Tuesday morning's testimony revolved around the data recovered from Bryant's cellphones, which included multiple internet searches about the Susana Morales case.
The jury also watched police body camera footage that captured a conversation Bryant had with a girl who returned home after her family reported her missing in May 2022.
"If something were to happen to you we are doing a rape or a missing person, then we find your body out there in the woods. Then what? 'Cause you are probably strong and smart, say no to strangers and stuff like that, but those people don't care," Bryant could be heard saying on tape. "People are my size, big, and snatch you up. You can scream and shout all you want, they will throw you in the back of a van. They will take you, and your parents will never see you again."
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The jury will hear closing arguments Wednesday morning and will begin deliberations later that day.