Get notified by email when this case is updated.
Written by: A. Smith
Published February 13, 2023 @ 7:54 PM ET
Last Updated February 22, 2023 @ 1:40 PM ET
Update #2: Police have upgraded the charges against the former Doraville officer arrested in the death of 16-year-old Susana Morales. He is now charged with felony murder and kidnapping.
Officials said when Morales’ body was found, they located a firearm that was registered to Bryant that he had reported stolen shortly after she went missing.
Police stated during a recent press conference that there was “no indication” Morales had been shot to death. Once police had identified Bryant as a person of interest in the case, they began watching his activity. They said it is possible that Bryant dropped the weapon during the commission of the murder.
According to reports, it is believed that the teen was already deceased by the time she was reported missing the next morning. Detectives stated they had reason to believe Morales was killed between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m.
Gwinnett County Chief of Police James McClure says that it “is a possibility” the teen was sexually assaulted. “We don’t definitively know (how she died); we’re still investigating. What we do know is that she died at the hands of Miles Bryant,” McClure said.
McClure stated during his press conference on Wednesday that Bryant lived and served as a courtesy officer at the apartment complex where Morales had gone to visit her friend before she began her walk home. The chief declined to speak on a motive at this time, stating they are still investigating the case.
Update #1: New documents have been released that reveal insight into what detectives believe may have happened to 16-year-old Susana Morales after a police officer was arrested in connection with her death yesterday.
According to warrants, Bryant “lives in close proximity to the victim and dumped her naked body in the woods,” Warrants also show on the day of the teen’s disappearance, Bryant filed a police report claiming his gun was stolen after his car had been broken into at his apartment complex. He has been charged with a false report of a crime.
Bryant has also been charged with concealing the death of another. The warrant states: “Accused did conceal the death of Susana Morales and hindering the discovery of whether or not such person was unlawfully killed.”
Police say Bryant had no prior relationship with the 16-year-old victim.
According to reports, Bryant has been with the Doraville Police Department since 2021 and was a current officer up until his arrest. He was previously employed by Forsyth County as a jailer.
Police are still working to determine Morales’s cause and manner of death. This is an ongoing investigation and updates will be provided as they become available.
Gwinnett County (February 13, 2023) – A Doraville police officer has been arrested in connection with the death of 16-year-old Susana Morales, who went missing nearly six months ago. On February 6, the remains of the Norcross teen were found off Highway 316 near the Gwinnett-Barrow county line. The teen vanished while walking home last July.
Police have arrested Miles Bryant, 22, of Norcross, in connection with her disappearance. At the time of his arrest, Bryant was an officer with the Doraville Police Department.
According to reports, Morales was last seen on the evening of July 26. She had texted her mother at 9:40 p.m. to tell her she was on her way home to Windscape Village Lane. Police confirmed through cell phone records and video footage that the teen was walking in the direction of her home but believed she may have gotten into a vehicle along the way.
Around 10:26 p.m., her phone was pinged in the area of Oak Loch Trace and Steve Reynolds Boulevard, indicating that she was still in the same area. The phone continued to ping around that location until it was turned off or died. Morales never made it home.
On February 6, police responded to a person who wanted to report finding what they believed to be human remains in the wooded area of Drowning Creek Road, over twenty miles away from where Morales was last seen. The Gwinnett County Medical Examiner’s Office positively identified the human remains as that of the then-missing 16-year-old female through dental records.
Police have not released details on Morales’s cause of death, if the two knew each other, or how Bryant was involved in her disappearance and murder.
Bryant was arrested and charged with concealing the death of another and a false report of a crime. He is being held in the Gwinnett County Jail without bond.
Gwinnett County Police spokesperson Officer Hideshi Valle said, “Detectives developed enough probable cause to get an arrest today, but the investigation is still ongoing.”
The City of Doraville Police released a statement on the arrest of Bryant this afternoon:
“The City of Doraville was notified the afternoon of Monday, February 13, that a now former police officer was being served felony arrest warrants by the Gwinnett Police Department in connection with the disappearance and murder of Susana Morales. The City of Doraville and its Police Department are fully cooperating with the Gwinnett Police Department in its investigation of Mr. Bryant. Our prayers rest with the family and friends of Susana Morales and everyone else affected by this tragedy.”
Gwinnett Police Detectives continue investigating Morales’ manner and cause of death. Anyone with information is asked to call GCPD detectives at 770-513-5300. To remain anonymous, tipsters should contact Crime Stoppers Greater Atlanta at 404-577-TIPS (8477) or visit www.stopcrimeATL.com.