GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Editor's Note: The above video is from a previous report of this story. Read below for new information.
A recent filing alleges a fired Doraville Police officer may have had a history of disturbing behavior driven by sexual desires prior to Susana Morales’ death.
Prosecutors filed the motion on Monday. Additional evidence emerged, suggesting Miles Bryant's previous actions were sexually driven, potentially establishing a motive for the alleged rape and murder of the 16-year-old girl. It comes on the hills of a new indictment, including an additional attempted rape charge for Bryant in the death of 16-year-old Susana Morales.
The court document alleges Bryant previously broke into several teens' apartments to steal their undergarments when he was a minor. He also allegedly sent photographs and videos of women engaging in sexual acts to himself without their permission. Multiple women told police they had no knowledge Bryant allegedly used their phones to send himself the sexual material. The filing also said Bryant allegedly committed some of these acts while acting in his duties as a police officer.
In one incident, Bryant allegedly told a young girl that someone could rape and kill her because she reportedly ran away from her family. The events in the incident are eerily similar to those reported in Morales’ murder case.
Bryant would also allegedly record himself sexually assaulting his significant other while she was unconscious or asleep without her knowledge.
A recent indictment pushed back a start to the trial against Bryant, which a judge scheduled for June of this year. The judge has set the arraignment for the new indictment against Bryant on Feb. 1.
Morales went missing in the summer of 2022, and it would be months until police found her remains in the woods. Police then accused Bryant of dumping Morales’ naked body in the woods. Gwinnett Police later detailed a timeline of how they believed Bryant killed her after she’d gone to visit a friend the night of July 26, 2022.
According to the recent court filing, Bryant now faces malice and felony murder, kidnapping, criminal attempt to commit rape, and false report of a crime.
It is unclear whether a judge would allow the alleged evidence in the courtroom. A Gwinnett County judge has not yet scheduled a motions hearing to determine whether the evidence would be admissible.
Where the case stands
Bryant is in jail and has been denied bond twice, most recently in May 2023.
Since his arrest, police have released a tentative outline of events:
- On July 26, 2022, Susana Morales went to visit a friend in a nearby apartment complex, and she was taken between 10 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. while returning home. Police believe that she was killed sometime around 2 a.m.
- Susana Morales was reported missing the next morning, July 27, at 9 a.m.
- "By the time she was reported missing, we have every reason to believe that Susana was deceased," McClure said.
- He also said there was "no indication" Susana had been shot to death.
Who is Miles Bryant?
- He was a Doraville Police officer. That department said Bryant was no longer employed with them after his arrest, calling him a "now former police officer."
- Bryant lived on Windscape Village Lane in Norcross, near the location where Susana Morales lived and originally went missing.
- He also lived and served as a courtesy officer at the apartment complex where Susana had gone to visit.
- Chief McClure previously said that investigators have not established if Morales and Bryant knew each other prior to her death.
- In a press conference last year, McClure acknowledged previous incidents involving Bryant - pointing to one in 2018, in which he had allegedly tried to enter a neighbor's home through the window. Additionally, there were allegations in December 2022 that Bryant tried to enter a residence where a woman said he was stalking her.