GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — Day two of witness testimony in the trial of an ex-officer accused of killing a 16-year-old Gwinnett County girl continued on Thursday.
Ex-Doraville officer Miles Bryant is accused of kidnapping and killing Susana Morales, who was last seen alive on July 26, 2022, at the Sterling Glen apartment complex.
Prosecutors also questioned detectives about body camera footage worn moments when the teen's remains were found and when Bryant reported his firearm as stolen the next day after the teen was last seen alive.
Thursday's proceedings began with the testimony of Morales' best friend and her boyfriend, who painted the picture of the moments before the teen disappeared.
Esmeralda "Rose" Castillo, who was the teen's best friend, said she remembers the moments when she figured something was wrong.
Castillo said she contacted her other friends to see if Morales was with them. One of them said that Morales had just left her house and walked home. When Morales' mom called, she began to worry.
"I kind of freaked out because I hadn't heard from her. And I know she wasn't home yet," Castillo said.
One of their friends got back to her and found out from an app that she could have been involved in a crash. She got her sister and her sister's boyfriend and went to go to the supposed crash site. After they saw no trace of her, they went back home and continued to search for her the next day.
Prosecutors questioned Castillo about any other interactions she might have had with Bryant.
She mentioned one instance when Bryant asked her and Morales if they needed a ride while they were walking out of the apartment complex in their neighborhood.
"It wasn't odd for us to get asked if we needed a ride anywhere. We just laughed it off, and we didn't talk about it," she said.
Morales' boyfriend, Axel Zaragoza, also testified in the trial. He told prosecutors he and Morales met in May 2022 and started dating within a month. He spoke to her character and about the day she disappeared.
“She was really uplifting. She was nice to everybody. She was a really loving person,” Zaragoza said.
Zaragoza said the two FaceTimed multiple times the night of her disappearance before she started her walk home from her friend's house.
Proceedings then took a turn where attorneys questioned multiple detectives, officers and investigators. They were questioned about interactions they had had with the defendant and about the investigation.
One of the initial officers working her case when Morales was first reported missing broke out into tears during his testimony.
Gwinnett County Police Lt. Xavier Biggers said he neglected his family to keep looking for Morales and followed up on every lead Morales' sister, Jasmine, informed him about.
“Just for me, the anguish and the sadness that the mother posed it,” the officer said as he broke out into tears. “It really touched me that I thought it was my duty to find her. I do care about making sure we find these children when something like that happens."
Another key moment in Thursday's proceedings was when attorneys showed bodycam footage of when Morales's remains were found. They also questioned the man who found Morales' remains.
One of the officers also said that police found a gun matching the description of Bryant's supposed stolen gun.
Gwinnett County Police Detective William Merkley then testified about his interaction with Bryant when the ex-officer reported his gun as stolen at the Steling Glen Apartment a day after Morales was reported missing.
Prosecutors played the video of the bodycam footage and audio recording of Bryant's call to report his gun as stolen during the detective's testimony.
In that video, Bryant told the detective that he was looking for his wallet and couldn’t find it. He then checked his truck and found his Glock 19 holster without the gun in it. He grabbed his case with the serial number and reported it stolen.
Bryant also told the officer that he left his truck unlocked and believed someone could have stolen it while it was unlocked.
The two have a friendly conversation about Bryant possibly wanting to join the Gwinnett Couty Police Department and how he was
Detective Merkley said that he found it strange that Bryant called it in and didn't want an investigation to be done in the case.
“I found it a little odd that we had a serial number for specific property that could be returned to him, but he didn’t want any follow-up done in this case,” the detective said.
An ex-girlfriend, Avyonne Smyre, who was dating Bryant at the time of the incident, took the witness stand later in the day.
Prosecutors showed the jury text messages between the two the night the teen was last seen. She stated the two were arguing over text and FaceTime about another woman.
According to the ex-girlfriend, he was off that day. She said that Bryant ignored her that night.
Smyre added that she noticed scratches and a cracked mirror on the former officer's truck shortly after he reported the gun stolen.
Once Bryant was arrested and accused in Morales' murder, she was in disbelief at first.
“I didn’t believe what was going on to be completely honest with you. In my mind, MIles would never do what was being said," said Smyre.
Morales' mother, Maria Bran, gave an emotional testimony about the night Morales went missing, supported by an interpreter, while her sister, Jasmine Perez, detailed their search efforts using the Life360 app. Friends Kelly Paguada and Alyssa Marvin shared their final moments with Morales. Her family and friends also testified on Wednesday
Susana Morales went missing in the summer of 2022, and it would be months until her remains were found in the woods.
The unsettling details of the case included police accusing Miles Bryant - a Doraville police officer who was terminated upon being arrested in early 2023 - of dumping Morales' naked body in the woods. Gwinnett Police later detailed a timeline of how they believed she was killed by Bryant after she'd gone to visit a friend the night of July 26, 2022.
The trial will continue on Friday, June 7, with more witness testimony. Proceedings will start around 8:45 a.m.
You can watch Thursday's trial prodceeding in the video player above and on 11Alive's YouTube Channel.
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 by 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," Doraville Police Chief James D. McClure said.
- He also said there was "no indication" Susana had been shot to death.
Photos | Susana Morales
Who is Miles Bryant?
- He was a Doraville Police officer. After his arrest, the department said Bryant was no longer employed with them, 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.