Susana Morales murder: Former Doraville officer filed false report
GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. - The former Doraville police officer charged with murdering a 16-year-old girl filed a false police report to coveri his tracks, the Gwinnett County Police said.
Police released what investigators said is a false police report Miles Bryant filed the day after Susanna Morales went missing back in July..
Former Doraville police officer filed false report, investigators say
The 22-year-old claimed he was busy working as a courtesy officer at the Sterling Glen Apartment when someone stole his Glock 19 handgun, his military ID, and his wallet with credit and debit cards in it.
Susana Morales: County claims "very solid case" against ex-officer charged with murder
Authorities have now charged ex-Doraville officer Miles Bryant with the murder and kidnapping of 16-year-old Susana Morales. Gwinnett County Police Chief J.D. McClure says there is a "very solid case" against him.
Bryant also lives in the complex. It is also the same property where Morales, a Berkman High School freshman, was walking home the night before.
Bryant claimed he left his truck door unlocked when the theft occurred, but Gwinnett County's police chief said his investigators found Bryant's handgun in the same wooded area on Drowning Creek Road where they found Morales's remains.
"We believe that Miles was armed at that night, and we believe at some point he simply lost the weapon there," Gwinnett County Police Chief J.D. McClure commented.
Police said they do not believe Bryant fired the weapon during the deadly encounter, but they do not know if he used the weapon to force the teen to go with him.
Susana Morales (Gwinnett County Police Department)
Miles Bryant to be discharged from Georgia National Guard
The former Doraville police officer will also soon be a former member of the Georgia National Guard. A spokesperson said it has begun to discharge Bryant from his military service, following his murder and kidnapping charges.
The Georgia National Guard released a statement that reads:
"We are aware of the very serious criminal charges pending against Mile Bryant. In light of those charges, he is being processed for discharge from our organization."
When did Susana Morales disappear?
Susana Morales had been missing since last July. Earlier this month, Gwinnett detectives arrested 22-year-old Miles Bryant, of Norcross, accusing him of hiding the teen's death and then lying about it. Wednesday, the Gwinnett County Police Chief said that they've upgraded Bryant's charges to felony murder and kidnapping.
Susana Morales poses for pictures with her family. (Supplied) (Supplied)
Morales' family members told police they hadn't seen her since the evening of July 26. That night, detectives said Morales texted her mom at 9:40 p.m. to tell her she was on her way to her home on Santa Anna Drive. Officials confirmed an app on Morales' cell phone showed that she was walking in that direction on Singleton Road from Windscape Village Lane between 10:07 p.m. and 10:21 p.m., but detectives said they have reason to believe she died between 10 p.m. that day and 2 a.m. on the next day.
SUSANA MORALES' SISTER BELIEVE SHE DIDN'T KNOW OFFICER CHARGED IN HER DEATH
Between 10:21 p.m. and 10:26 p.m., her phone indicated that she was in the area of Oak Loch Trace and Steve Reynolds Boulevard. Her phone pinged that location until it either died or was turned off. Morales never made it home.
A breakthrough in the case came on Feb. 6, when officers responded to the area between Drowning Creek and Barrow County after someone reported seeing what they believed were human remains in the forest.
Susana Morales poses for pictures with her family. (Supplied) (Supplied)
The Gwinnett Medical Examiners' office tested the remains and said the DNA matched Morales' dental records. The site was about 20 miles from where the teen was last seen. In a search of the area around where Morales' body was found, officials said they found a firearm belonging to Bryant that he had reported stolen on the same day the teen was reported missing.
After marking Bryant a person of interest in the case, officials said they began watching his activities and eventually found evidence that "directly linked" him to the crime.
Susana Morales poses for pictures with her family. (Supplied) (Supplied)
What is Miles Bryant charged with?
In the warrant application, officials allege that Bryant, who was working as a Doraville police officer at the time of Morales' death, lives close to where she was last reported on Windscape Village Lane and dumped her naked body in the woods.
While police mentioned in their warrant application that they suspected Bryant of rape, he has not been charged with the offense. Gwinnett County James McClure said that it "is a possibility" the teen was sexually assaulted.
"What we do know is that she died at the hands of Miles Bryant," McClure said.
Calling Morales' death an "unspeakable tragedy," McClure said that the fact the crime was allegedly committed by a law enforcement officer "evoked anger" within the ranks of his agency.
At this point, investigators said there is no evidence that anyone else was involved in Morales' death.
Bryant is being held at the Gwinnett County Adult Detention Center on charges of concealing the death of another, filing a false report of a crime, murder, and kidnapping.
He remains held without bond.